‘Scrubs’ removes three episodes featuring blackface

Scrubs is the latest TV series taking steps to address past racism. Three episodes featuring characters in blackface have been removed from streaming services.On Tuesday, a Twitter user messaged the show's creator Bill Lawrence with a link to a Variety article where Tina Fey requests to have four episodes of 3o Rock that feature blackface removed from streaming. Asking whether the same steps could be taken for Scrubs, Lawrence tweeted “Agreed. Already in the works.”

Agreed. Already in the works.

— Bill Lawrence (@VDOOZER) June 23, 2020

The Scrubs episodes featuring characters in blackface were filmed during the third and fifth season of the comedy. “My Jiggly Ball” was the fourth episode in season five and featured a fantasy sequence that included Sarah Chalke in blackface while pretending to be an amalgamation of her character Elliot with Donald Faison’s Turk. Also in Season 5, the episode “My Chopped Liver” includes a scene with Zach Braff’s JD attending a party at a predominately Black fraternity. At the urging of Turk, JD reluctantly wears a costume that includes blackface.Scrubs ran on NBC and later ABC for nine seasons from 2001 until 2010. On March 31, Braff and Faison released the first episode of their podcast Fake Doctors, Real Friends with Zach and Donald. The co-stars have been revisiting every episode of the medical comedy and are still on the show’s first season. The pair are currently recording episodes, so it’s possible that the blackface scenes will be addressed in the coming weeks.30 Rock creator Tina Fey said in a statement: "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.”Netflix recently removed Little Britain from its lineup for blackface content. An episode of Bob Odenkirk and David Cross’s 2015 sketch show W/Bob & David was also removed from Netflix because of a scene that included Cross in Blackface.Late night hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon have both apologized in the past month after sketches of the comedians in blackface resurfaced online. Actor Eiza González also issued a public apology this week after images from 2007 of her in blackface were shared online.Many fans on Twitter have applauded Lawrence’s request to have the episodes of Scrubs removed but note that since the scenes are not integral to the larger storylines, the episodes should be edited rather than taken down entirely or have a disclaimer added to the show’s opening.Gone with the Wind was removed from streaming on HBO Max in May and recently returned with a new introduction by Turner Classic Movies host Jaqueline Stewart. "It is not only a major document of Hollywood's racist practices of the past but also an enduring work of popular culture that speaks directly to the racial inequalities that persist in media and society today,” says Stewart in the new disclaimer that plays at the start of the film, adding that Gone with the Wind depicts a "world of grace and beauty, without acknowledging the brutalities of the system of chattel slavery upon which this world is based."Two companion videos have also been added to HBO Max also with the return of Gone with the Wind, including a panel discussion on the film’s controversial legacy as well as a short documentary on actor Hattie McDaniel, who became the first Black person to win an Oscar for her role in the film as Mammy.[video_embed id='1983454']BEFORE YOU GO: Lainey apologizes for past racist and homophobic posts on her blog[/video_embed]