Hulu has removed an episode of The Golden Girls containing a scene of characters in blackface after a request from the series’ distributor, Disney-ABC Domestic Television, sources tell Deadline.
Hulu’s removal of the season three episode “Mixed Blessings” followed in the footsteps of other shows pulling similar content in light of the Black Lives Matter movement taking center stage in America and around the world.
In the episode, Bea Arthur’s Dorothy was introduced to her son’s fiancée, a notably older black woman, as The Hollywood Reporter noted. Rue McClanahan’s Blanche and Betty White’s Rose donned mud masks when they met the fiancée, played by Rosalind Cash, for the first time.
First of all, they were in mud masks not blackface. And second of all, in what world does "Stop killing us." sound like "Please remove episodes of Golden Girls"? I didn't see that ask on anyone's protest sign… https://t.co/cgEcGdD60o
— erica williams simon (@missewill) June 28, 2020
“This is mud on our faces,” White said in the episode. “We’re not really black.”
It wasn’t long before fans took to Twitter to defend the show.
“First of all, they were in mud masks not blackface,” one user said. “And second of all, in what world does, ‘Stop killing us.’ sound like, ‘Please remove episodes of Golden Girls’? I didn’t see that ask on anyone’s protest sign…”
The same user continued: “To be clear: I’m not ‘attacking’ Hulu. I would just hate for the seriousness of this moment and movement to get lost in symbolic (and sometimes silly) overcorrections. Impact on real lives should be the measure of any change worthy of a PR push.”
