Streaming service Hulu has deleted three episodes of the long running medical comedy show Scrubs, because they contain characters dressed in blackface.
The now deleted episodes include Season 3’s “My Friend the Doctor,” and Season 5 episodes “My Jiggly Ball” and “My Chopped Liver.” The episodes featured actors Zach Braff, Donald Faison, (who is black) and Sarah Chalke donning blackface for segments of the show. The service removed the episodes at the behest the series producers, ABC Studios, according to The Wrap.
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Series creator Bill Lawrence raised the issue of deleting the episodes in a June 23 tweet in which he replied “already in the works” to a fan who wondered if the episodes would be canned.
Scrubs joins a growing list of TV series eliminating episodes and performances containing characters in blackface.
Only days ago, 30 Rock mastermind and executive producer Tina Fry apologized for several blackface episodes and agreed to have them pulled from NBC as well as streaming platforms. Meanwhile, the BBC’s streaming service and BritBox also began vanishing episodes of British series that featured characters doing blackface.
Meanwhile, comedians including ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, NBC late-night host Jimmy Fallon, and radio shock jock Howard Stern are again facing criticism for past blackface skits, videos, and other performances.
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