The creator Greg Daniels has edited a 2012 episode called 'Dwight Christmas' which originally contained a scene featuring Rainn Wilson with blackface depiction.
- Jun 27, 2020
AceShowbiz - "The Office" creator Greg Daniels has announced a blackface scene in the hit U.S. comedy has been edited out.
The "Dwight Christmas" episode, which aired in 2012, no longer contains a scene featuring Rainn Wilson in character as Dwight trying to convince his colleagues to celebrate Pennsylvania Dutch Christmas while in blackface.
"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," showrunner Daniels told Variety in a statement on Friday, June 2, 2020. "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 "Dwight Christmas" episode of "The Office" will no longer appear on the Netflix streaming platform or in syndication.
The news follows a string of similar actions in Hollywood to remove blackface from programmes in the wake of global Black Lives Matter protests worldwide following the murder of African-American George Floyd by a white police officer in Minnesota last month, May 2020.
"30 Rock" creator Tina Fey asked TV bosses to axe multiple episodes of the show featuring the practice. Three episodes of "Scrubs" were also pulled from the Hulu streaming platform and Netflix bosses have removed the entire British sketch series, "Little Britain", for blackface depiction.
