‘The Mighty Boosh’ and ‘The League of Gentlemen’ have been pulled from Netflix over scenes containing blackface.
The two BBC comedy shows have both seen their series axed by the popular streaming service because of their use of blackface, following the recent Black Lives Matter protests that have been taking place primarily in the US and the UK.
According to The Guardian newspaper, ‘The Mighty Boosh’s Spirit of Jazz and Papa Lazarou from ‘The League of Gentlemen’ were both considered "problematic" by Netflix, as they were both played by white actors wearing blackface.
Papa Lazarou – described as a "blacked-up ringmaster who calls everybody Dave" – was inspired by an old landlord of the show’s creators, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, who has maintained the character was never supposed to represent a black man.
The Spirit of Jazz, meanwhile, is supposed to be the ghost of fictional jazz musician Howlin’ Jimmy Jefferson and was played by Noel Fielding in the series.
And whilst Netflix has binned the series, ‘The League of Gentlemen’ is still available to watch on BBC iPlayer, with the broadcaster confirming to The Guardian it has "no plans" to remove it.
The news comes after it was recently revealed Netflix had also axed comedy sketch show ‘Little Britain’ – which starred David Walliams and Matt Lucas – over sketches which included blackface, with BBC iPlayer and BritBox following suit.
A spokesperson for the BBC said: "There’s a lot of historical programming available on BBC iPlayer, which we regularly review. Times have changed since ‘Little Britain’ first aired so it is not currently available on BBC iPlayer."
Since the show began in 2003, ‘Little Britain’ has long been the subject of controversy surrounding its sketches, including its depiction of "portly Thai bride" Ting Tong – played by Matt Lucas – and of Desiree DeVere, a black woman played by David Walliams in full blackface.
And following renewed focus on issues of race and representation amid the current Black Lives Matter protests, the show has come under fire again, prompting streaming services to cut ties with the series.