’30 Rock’ Is Wiping Multiple Episodes Featuring Blackface From The Internet

30 Rock is removing multiple episodes featuring blackface from TV syndication, digital stores such as Google Play and iTunes, and streaming services, including Stan and Amazon Prime Video in Australia.

Four episodes are in the process of being removed, as per the request of NBCUniversal executive producers Robert Carlock and Tina Fey, who also starred in and wrote 30 Rock (via Vulture).

“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,” Fey wrote in a statement.

“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.”

In Australia, 30 Rock is available to stream on Stan, Amazon Prime Video and Foxtel Go. Junkee has confirmed that multiple episodes have been removed from all three services.

The episodes are from across the seven-season series, which originally ran from 2006 to 2013.

They includs two instances of Jane Krakowski’s character in blackface, including a season three episode called ‘Believe in the Stars’ where Jenna and Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) swap identities to decide whether white women or Black men face more discrimination. There’s a scene where Jenna goes to darken her skin, which is then shut down.

In a later season five episode ‘Christmas Attack Zone’, Jenna appears in blackface for a party, dressed as a footballer Lynn Swann alongside her boyfriend, who is dressed as Natalie Portman’s character in Black Swan.

A season six episode featuring guest star Jon Hamm in blackface in a spoof of 40-year strong radio and TV sitcom Amos ‘n’ Andy, which featured two white actors as Black men, has also been removed from some services.

One version of 30 Rock’s season five live episode is also believed to be pulled in the future: there were East and West coast versions with minor differences, and the East coast has been pulled across some services.

Vulture speculates the offending difference could be a joke about Fox News which described Obama as a “Kenyan liar”, which was changed to “Barack Obammunist” in the West Coast edition.

30 Rock‘s request follows the removal of several Chris Lilley shows and Little Britain and Faulty Towers episodes that feature either blackface or racist slurs from streaming services, as well as the temporary removal of Gone With The Wind from US platforms.

These moves have been celebrated as long overdue, but have also created their own distracting cultural wars by mainstream media outlets decrying the end of free speech in a wilful dilution and distraction of Black Lives Matter protests.

As Junkee editor Patrick Lenton wrote, “Shows like this being pulled from streaming services can be taken as a sign of cultural progress, as a result protests shining increased scrutiny on everyday racism inflicted on people of colour around the globe…. But, it’s also worth pointing out that conservative voices and media are absolutely seizing on these ancillary issues, and using them for fodder in a distracting, and ultimately bad-faith culture war.”

Last week, 30 Rock announced a reunion episode of sorts, with Fey, Alec Baldwin, Morgan, Krakowski and Jack McBrayer slated to reappear in character for NBC’s 2020-21 ‘Upfront’, where the network announces its new programs and plans.