Netflix has removed controversial Australian comedian Chris Lilley’s four shows from its services in Australia and New Zealand.
“Angry Boys,” “Summer Heights High,” “We Can Be Heroes” and “Jonah From Tonga” have all been pulled from the service – each series boasts characters that have sparked questions over racial discrimination in the past.
“Angry Boys” features Lilley in blackface as a rapper character named S.mouse (who also uses the n-word) and a Japanese mother named Jen Okazaki, while “Summer Heights High” and “Jonah From Tonga” have him playing Jonah Takalua brown makeup. In “We Can Be Heroes,” Lilley plays Chinese physics student Ricky Wong.
The shows were originally made by Australian producer Princess Pictures for the ABC. Lilley’s other series like “Ja’mie Private School Girl” and Netflix original “Lunatics” will remain on the service.
Both Netflix and The BBC pulled “Little Britain” from their services earlier this week due to similar concerns, and originally The BBC appeared to have no plans to pull Lilley’s shows from its streaming service iPlayer. They have since removed the series.
Netflix has also removed British comedy “The League Of Gentlemen” from its library after it featured the blackface character Papa Lazarou.
Source: The Wrap
