Netflix Permanently Pulls A Number Of Chris Lilley Shows Over Their Use Of Blackface
Four programs have been permanently dropped from the streaming service.
Netflix has confirmed that it has permanently pulled a number of shows starring and created by Chris Lilley from its streaming service.
Jonah From Tonga, Angry Boys, Summer Heights High and We Can Be Heroes are the four programs in question. Each feature, to more or lesser degree, Lilley in blackface.
The move comes just under 24 hours after Little Britain, the comedy sketch show starring Matt Lucas and David Walliams, was also pulled from Netflix. That show too has come under fire in recent years for featuring blackface.
In turn, the pulling of the shows is a response to global Black Lives Matter protests unfolding around the world, and the increased scrutiny on Hollywood’s problematic depiction of disenfranchised communities.
It is worth noting that not every Chris Lilley show has been pulled from Netflix. The streaming service will still feature Ja’mie: Private School Girl, and Lilley’s newest show, Lunatics. Keeping up the latter show has already proven a slightly controversial move: it features a South African character named Jana, who Lilley plays while wearing an Afro.
Netflix has confirmed that none of the pulled Lilley programs will return to the service.