Netflix has removed an episode of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, which saw two characters wear blackface
The sixth episode from the second season, ‘Dee Reynolds: Shaping America’s Youth’, is no longer viewable on the streaming platform.
Fans quickly noticed that the episode, which sees Mac and Dee wear blackface, was missing and flocked to social media with their reactions.
Netflix just pulled an episode of its always sunny in Philadelphia because Mac uses blackface in it. The problem is that the show is satire and is trying to show how ignorant the characters are for their actions.
It’s self-aware that the characters are terrible people
— Ross Dowling (@RossDowling2) June 11, 2020
Thing is though, It’s Always Sunny is not racist. The characters are.
The entire joke of the show is that these are horrible, terrible people who suffer for their sins. When Mac and Dee do blackface, it’s not glorified at all. It’s heavily shunned by every other character
— Lewis Palmer || #BlackLivesMatter (@GargantuanAppl1) June 11, 2020
Little Britain has been removed from streaming because “times have changed” and the use of blackface ?
It’s Always Sunny remains on there though ?♂️ and where do you draw the line on that sort of stuff? Surely you should remove Friends and Community for the homophobic jokes?
— Michael Neale | Prudent Gaming ? (@prudent_gaming) June 11, 2020
NME has contacted Netflix for further comment.
Renewed discussions about race have emerged in the wake of George Floyd’s death last month.
Floyd, who was African American, died in Minneapolis on May 25 when white police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck.
Chauvin has since been sacked and charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter. Three of his colleagues, Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J Alexander Keung, are now all facing charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder, and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.
His death has sparked a series of Black Lives Matter protests across the globe.
This comes as, Fawlty Towers‘ most famous episodes was removed from a streaming service due to racial slurs and the repeated use of the N-word.
It follows the removal of Matt Lucas and David Walliams’ sketch comedy shows Little Britain and Come Fly With Me from streaming platforms over their use of blackface.
Channel 4 has also removed episodes of Bo’ Selecta after creator Leigh Francis apologised for his caricatures of black people in the show.
