On June 23,
Scrubs creator and showrunner Bill Lawrence announced on Twitter that he would be removing three episodes of his long-running medical comedy that featured characters in blackface.
Scrubs joined a growing list of TV shows and films that are reckoning with their past. On Monday, Lawrence appeared on
Scrubs stars Donald Faison and Zach Braff’s new podcast
Fake Doctors, Real Friends with Zach and Donald to discuss the episodes.Joined by co-star Sarah Chalke, the foursome addressed the three blackface episodes on a special edition of the
Scrubs re-watch podcast. Lawrence, who was the showrunner for all nine seasons of Scrubs, which ran on NBC and later ABC from 2001 until 2009, said that he takes full responsibility for the racist depictions of the lead characters.“The reason why that word showrunner exists in television is because you’re the gatekeeper and anything that gets allowed on a show you ultimately have to take responsibility for,” said Lawrence, who addressed the power dynamics on TV sets and in writers room, noting that even in the most open and collaborative environments, the fear of speaking up over inappropriate material is very real. “So, first off, I’m super sorry that any of you guys had to deal with any stuff because ultimately even though we’re all friends and it was a super creative and reciprocal environment, you guys still, at the end of the day, did and were receptive to doing whatever stuff we told you.”[video_embed id='1984151']RELATED: ‘Scrubs’ removes three episodes featuring Blackface[/video_embed]Speaking about the feeling of getting a ‘pass’ on blackface because of the show’s intent in the comedic scenes, Braff said he compartmentalized the impact of
Scrubs’ use of blackface as different from that of
Ted Danson, who wore blackface to impersonate then-girlfriend Whoopi Goldberg in 1993 during a Friars Roast. “I remember being shocked, like what the f*ck was that guy thinking,” said Braff of Danson’s performance. “I’m embarrassed to say now I never equated it. I thought ‘It’s a fantasy where I’m trying to be my best friend,’” said Braff of the
Scrubs blackface scenes. “When Donald and I first started the podcast he mentioned we did blackface on the show and I cringed to hear Donald say it out loud. It made me feel so shitty and embarrassed.”Faison and Braff said they cringe every Halloween when fans share pictures of themselves dressed as Turk and JD, knowing that many will be in blackface because the act was co-signed on the show. “That’s how the climate has changed,” said Faison. “Nowadays there are boundaries on what you can do as far as jokes. I know a lot of comedians are dealing with that issue. How do you make something that’s hurt so many people, how do you use that as comedy?”Lawrence also took aim at the idea that making television more politically correct would destroy art. “At every stage of my career there’s been some version of this, and art is not worse,” said Lawrence, who began his career as a TV writer in 1992. “TV especially is in a great era right now for the content. Art gets better for it.”Lawrence said that his decision to use blackface was one that stemmed from ignorance. “We were so f*cking proud of ourselves for doing a very diverse show, in front of and behind the camera, a great black-and-white friendship that exists as a real black-and-white friendship, a great interracial couple were stars of the show. It was almost a block of arrogance like, ‘We’re so good at what we’re portraying and doing and showing that we could never venture into muddy waters.’ Even now, with that same ignorance, we never really connected the two of those things until now.”Lawrence also commented on the response on social media to Faison’s character donning whiteface. “I’m getting tons of, ‘Well, you’re gonna pull that episode where Donald plays Cal Turk and is a white guy and an insurance agent, right?’ And I’m like, ‘No, I’m not,’ because as a white guy that is not based in any systemic racism…I find that kind of argument to be so counterproductive and ridiculous.”The
Scrubs episodes featuring characters in blackface were filmed during the third and fifth seasons of the comedy. “My Jiggly Ball” was the fourth episode in season five, and featured a fantasy sequence that included Chalke in blackface while pretending to be an amalgamation of her character Elliot and Faison’s Turk. Also in Season 5, the episode “My Chopped Liver” included a scene with Braff’s JD attending a party at a predominately Black fraternity. At the urging of Turk, JD reluctantly wears a costume that includes blackface.At Lawrence’s request, Hulu removed the three episodes that feature blackface. “Twitter is like, ‘Why did you pull the whole episodes?’ Why didn’t you just edit those moments out and put them back on?’ And I said to one person, ‘It’s a pandemic. I don’t really have an editing facility up right now.’ I’ll probably do that, but the first thing I wanted to do was get them off TV because it bummed me out personally.”
The Emmy-winning comedy is one of the
many shows that has recently removed past episodes that feature characters in blackface.
30 Rock, W/Bob & David, Little Britain and
The Golden Girls have all taken episodes down from streaming sites. Late night hosts Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel, actor Eiza González and several social media stars have also made public apologizes this month for their past use of blackface.[video_embed id='1966117']Before you go:Jimmy Fallon apologizes for blackface SNL sketch[/video_embed]
