Long-running sitcom The Office has edited out a scene featuring a character in blackface, and it will no longer appear on Netflix in the US.
The episode in question, ‘Dwight Christmas‘, comes from Season 9 of the show, and sees Dwight trying to convince his coworkers to celebrate a Pennsylvania Dutch Christmas.
The scene shows a warehouse worker in blackface, dressed up as the character Zwarte Piet, receiving a text warning him not to come to the Christmas party.
The creator of the show, Greg Daniels, made a statement to Variety, saying:
“‘The Office’ is about a group of people trying to work together with mutual respect despite the inappropriate actions of their boss and assistant manager. The show employed satire to expose unacceptable behavior and deliver a message of inclusion. Today we cut a shot of an actor wearing blackface that was used to criticize a specific racist European practice. Blackface is unacceptable and making the point so graphically is hurtful and wrong. I am sorry for the pain that caused.”
The Office is not the only show to reckon with issues of racism in recent weeks.
This week, original Family Guy voice actor Mike Henry said he would no longer play the character of Cleveland Brown, believing he should be portrayed by a person of colour instead.
Jenny Slate and Kristen Bell, who voiced biracial characters on the shows Big Mouth and Central Park, also stepped down from their roles for similar reasons.
