Hulu Removes 'Golden Girls' Episode With Blackface Scene

[HARDY]

 

The streamer's removal of a 1988 episode becomes the latest in a string of scenes or episodes removed that feature blackface.

Hulu has removed an episode of The Golden Girls that contained a scene with Betty White and Rue McClanahan in blackface.

"Mixed Feelings", episode 23 in season 3 of the sitcom, aired in 1988 and shows Michael (Scott Jacoby), the son of Dorothy (Beatrice Author), planning to wed a much older Black woman, Lorraine (Rosalind Cash). 

Dororthy is concerned over the age difference while Lorraine’s family disapproves of their daughter marrying a white man, and thus the two families attempt to end the marriage. In the episode, Lorraine’s family finds Rose (Betty White) and Blanche (Rue McClanahan) trying a new mud facial treatment, and as they greet their family, Rose states, "This is mud on our faces, we’re not really Black."

This becomes the latest show to remove scenes or episodes featuring blackface. Episodes of 30 Rock, Scrubs and Community have been taken off their respective streaming platforms, as has U.K. sketch series Little Britain. Late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel recently apologized for performing blackface sketches earlier in their careers, and HBO Max has added a disclaimer to Gone With the Wind about its depiction of slavery, after briefly removing the film from its library.