• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

‘Scrubs’ Episodes Featuring Blackface Removed From Hulu

brap

Banned
Physical media chads win again!

Hulu has removed three episodes of “Scrubs” which featured characters in blackface, following a request by the show’s creator Bill Lawrence and ABC Studios, sources have confirmed to Variety.

The episodes in question are “My Fifteen Seconds” (season 3, episode 7), “My Jiggly Ball” (season 5, episode 4) and “My Chopped Liver” (season 5, episode 17). One featured Zach Braff’s lead character in blackface at a party, while another saw Sarah Chalke’s character in blackface during a fantasy sequence.

The news comes only two days after multiple episodes of “30 Rock” were removed from streaming platforms and syndication for the same reason.

Lawrence confirmed that the “Scrubs” episode were being taken down when replying to a tweet about Variety‘s story on the “30 Rock” news. “Scrubs” aired across nine total seasons from 2001 to 2010, with the first seven broadcast on NBC and the final two on ABC.

The “30 Rock” removal came about at the request of creator Tina Fey and NBCUniversal. Fey wrote a letter to the platforms which carry the series, saying that the blackface episodes were “best taken out of circulation.” The comedian apologized “for pain they have caused.”

“As we strive to do the work and do better in regards to race in America, we believe that these episodes featuring actors in race-changing makeup are best taken out of circulation. I understand now that ‘intent’ is not a free pass for white people to use these images. I apologize for pain they have caused. Going forward, no comedy-loving kid needs to stumble on these tropes and be stung by their ugliness. I thank NBCUniversal for honoring this request,” Fey wrote.


“Scrubs” is the latest in a growing number of series, past and present, which are re-evaluating their depictions of race. Less than two weeks ago, Netflix pulled an episode of Bob Odenkirk and David Cross’ 2015 comedy show “W/Bob and David” because of a scene featuring Cross in blackface.The sketch in question is called “Know Your Rights” and appeared in the third episode of the show’s first and only season.
 

teezzy

Banned
braff5-640x480.png


:messenger_tears_of_joy::messenger_tears_of_joy::messenger_tears_of_joy::messenger_tears_of_joy:
 

AV

We ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space
Surprised this one took so long. It was one of the first that came to my mind.

I'm stunned they haven't come for Peep Show yet

mitchell-webb-discuss-your-top-10-peep-show-moments-5-1556687429-nMES-column-width-inline.jpg
 
Last edited:
lol JD looks bad ass as a black (the one one the left)

I wonder if men dressing up in skirts/as women is next to be axed. Like blackface, it is a major trope in comedies - but surely the trans community has something to say about it?
 

Gifmaker

Member
Can someone, preferably a POC, explain to me why this is so taboo nowadays? Like, I get that the caricature-style blackface from almost a century ago is seen as massively racist and therefore problematic. But a white person daring to paint their skin dark in any way or fashion is immediately frowned upon nowadays and I just don't get that. What's the problem?
 

dorkimoe

Member
I'm just sitting here waiting for all these uber left people to notice their beloved office has some pretty "offensive" scenes. There is a literal episode called "gay witch hunt". And Michael does a black voice in one of them, and makes black jokes i think
 

mcjmetroid

Member
Can someone, preferably a POC, explain to me why this is so taboo nowadays? Like, I get that the caricature-style blackface from almost a century ago is seen as massively racist and therefore problematic. But a white person daring to paint their skin dark in any way or fashion is immediately frowned upon nowadays and I just don't get that. What's the problem?
There is no issue though.

People think it's a sensitive issue like you should be ashamed to be black.

If I was black I'd be livid at this. You have to be able to laugh at yourself.

Like yourself, I understand the traditional blackface being offensive but it's a long time ago now and you have to move on if you don't ....you'll be spending your life being seen as only a colour.

People in Ireland and places like Scotland love laughing at themselves. We constantly have Americans making fun of our drunkenness and such but you have to OWN that image and be sort of proud of it and laugh it off. Things will organically move on when the joke gets old. Like everything else if you react to the joke people will keep doing it.

Certain people in the black community and especially people in the white community defending the black community seem to think they're helpless like they're standing up for a handicapped child.

I will never understand this.
 
The protests / riots started because of police brutality. Why doesn't America focus on and fix that point? Why are they dragging all these innocent comedy shows through mud that are harmless and have been enjoyed for 10+ years? What do these shows have to do with police brutality?
WUT?
 
The protests / riots started because of police brutality. Why doesn't America focus on and fix that point? Why are they dragging all these innocent comedy shows through mud that are harmless and have been enjoyed for 10+ years? What do these shows have to do with police brutality?
Sure the protests and riots started with alleged police brutality, but why does that automatically mean that's the reason for the show's episode removal? How does one correlate to the other?
 
Last edited:

sol_bad

Member
Sure the protests and riots started with alleged police brutality, but why does that automatically mean that's the reason for the show's episode removal? How does one correlate to the other?

Thats exactly my point, all the industries are jumping on the BLM train just because.
 

#Phonepunk#

Banned
The protests / riots started because of police brutality. Why doesn't America focus on and fix that point? Why are they dragging all these innocent comedy shows through mud that are harmless and have been enjoyed for 10+ years? What do these shows have to do with police brutality?
because you do these superficial changes and can act like "We made a difference". the left only cares about optics, this is why they are demanding every company make statements. this is why companies are doing this. they are protecting their brand.

it's a PR move. get your IP in the news for "making a difference". what does it have to do with police brutality? nothing. they are exploiting a movement, that's all. companies love to exploit subcultures and movements.

it's surprising tho, i didn't think blackface was THIS prevalent. it's getting ridiculous lol did everyone think that Obama gave them a free pass?
 
Congrats everyone, we did it, racism is solved!

We've put warnings on old movies, censored and / or taken down tv shows and labeled the word 'blacklist' a racist term.

I'm sure minorities all over the world will sleep sound tonight, knowing that their problems have been addressed.

It's not like these giant, rich, powerful corporations have direct access to the government and could lobby for things like police reform, investments in minority businesses and neighborhoods, fund schools in poor neighborhoods or put pressure on racist/hateful members of government, that could hurt their bottom line!
 
Last edited:

Fbh

Member
I demand we cancel Breaking Bad.

- Main character is called Walter WHITE, so we hear the word "white" a disproportionate amount of times compared to the word "Black"
- Story is about a white main character and his white sidekick entering a market dominated by Latinos and gaining great success, enforcing a racist point of view that white people can do everything better than other races as long as they try.
- Has an outdated depiction of law enforcement that is shown as maybe slightly incompetent but not straight up evil and racist.
- Has 2 prominent female roles that often come across as "annoying wives", enforcing negative gender roles and sexist stereotypes.
 

Happosai

Hold onto your panties
Physical media chads win again!


Interesting...I know the whole history behind blackface, but the Scrubs episodes really weren't offensive and just seems like JD with a make-up disguise as black JD. No one gave the Wayans bros flack for this...heaven forbid...whiteface!

xwiAepo.jpg
 
Last edited:
My concern is how this effects the story line and continuation, yeah its scrubs and it isn't meant to be some deep story arc but it would be confusing as hell if you weren't expecting the big gap.

Fuck this shit. Time to download the fuck out of a lot of media and join hari and cat with a plex server.

Edit: doesn't black scrubs do white face?
 
Last edited:

Jtibh

Banned
I'm sure you were partially joking, but how long before all digital games start getting fucked with!? DMC5 was the last offender, but to think this won't spill over into video games is naive.
I would assume most games can be played offline.

I understand updates affect disc versions too. But you can always reset.

And by disc ps5 i ment at least i have something to play my movies on in its original format. How long till married with children and seinfeld and always sunny will be banned from stores
 
H

hariseldon

Unconfirmed Member
Oh boy, the DVD collections for many shows and movies will skyrocket in price.

The pirate bay is gonna be real popular too - turns out they’re doing a huge service to culture preservation.

Another one downloading for my Plex server.
 
I would assume most games can be played offline.

I understand updates affect disc versions too. But you can always reset.

And by disc ps5 i ment at least i have something to play my movies on in its original format. How long till married with children and seinfeld and always sunny will be banned from stores
I'm talking about a full digital future. It will be a thing, and then there is no "reset".
 

Jtibh

Banned
I'm talking about a full digital future. It will be a thing, and then there is no "reset".

I cancelled cable cuz of all the leftist propaganda shows late night shows news etc.


I cancelled hbo after this insufferable piece of shit they turned westworld into as well as some other leftist propaganda shows.

I havent watched netflix ever since the takeover . All i see is leftist garbage and recently a large amount of korean shows. Is this what i pay for here to watch fucking korean shows and movies? The only reason i keep it so my daughter can watch cartoons.

I am ready to ditch gaming the moment its against my views. Its starting to inch towards that little by little.

I am not a programmed consumer. I am awake and know when enough is enough.
 
https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F269940e2-9a31-447e-a6c8-bd0ff9737da4


I guess this is why? They...does Disney not realize this was a joke with social commentary? And I guess Donald Faison in whiteface didn't factor in at all?

Okay 🤷‍♂️

Mainstream entertainment will be dead by 2025, across every medium. Start searching for the underground creators, only genuine fun you're gonna get for now on.

Edit: doesn't black scrubs do white face?

Look above xD

By the way are people actually asking for cancellations like this or are the companies covering their asses?

The latter. It's always the latter.
 
Last edited:

YCoCg

Member
I guess this is why? They...does Disney not realize this was a joke with social commentary? And I guess Donald Faison in whiteface didn't factor in at all?
The whole joke in this scene was that JD DIDN'T want to do blackface but Turk said it would be fine and a good joke, and then Turk gets distracted and walks away from JD, and JD is left near a group of black people who kick his ass for doing blackface.
 
Top Bottom