Hulu has removed three episodes of the medical comedy “Scrubs” from its streaming platforms because the episodes featured characters in blackface.
The show’s creator, Bill Lawrence, had asked Hulu to remove the episodes.
Variety reported Wednesday that the episodes, two from season 5 and one from season 3, were removed after Lawrence and ABC Studios jointly requested that they be removed.
Lawrence had confirmed plans to do so on Twitter the day before.
Agreed. Already in the works.
– Bill Lawrence (@VDOOZER) June 23, 2020
According to Variety, the scenes in question apparently included the use of blackface by two of the show’s stars, Zach Braff and Sarah Chalke, neither of whom has addressed the change on their social media accounts.
The news comes a day after it was reported that Tina Fey, creator and star of the NBC comedy “30 Rock,” had made a similar request for episodes of her show that contained the use of blackface to be removed from circulation.
“As we strive to get the job done and improve when it comes to race in America, we believe that these episodes with actors with makeup that changes race are better removed from circulation. Now I understand that ‘intention’ is not a free pass for white people to use these images, “Fey said in a statement.
“I apologize for the pain they have caused. In the future, no comedy-loving child needs to trip over these tropes and be stung for their ugliness. I thank NBCUniversal for honoring this request,” Fey said.
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