An episode of The Office has been edited in order to remove a scene that featured a character wearing blackface.
The change was announced on Friday amid a renewed effort to scrub popular TV shows of the racist practice.
The sequence in question appeared in “Dwight Christmas”, the ninth episode of the show’s ninth season.
In this episode, Dwight Schrute convinces his colleagues to celebrate a “Pennsylvania Dutch Christmas” for Dunder Mifflin’s Christmas party.
As part of the event, one of the show’s characters (warehouse worker Nate Nickerson) almost shows up to the office party dressed up as Zwarte Piet, Saint Nicholas’s companion, who is frequently portrayed by people in blackface during real-life celebrations.
In the episode, Nickerson is seen turning back after receiving a text from Dwight and returns later on, having removed most of his make-up.
“The Office is about a group of people trying to work together with mutual respect despite the inappropriate actions of their boss and assistant manager,” show creator Greg Daniels told The Wrap.
“The show employed satire to expose unacceptable behaviour and deliver a message of inclusion.
“Today we cut a shot of an actor wearing blackface that was used to criticise a specific racist European practice.
“Blackface is unacceptable and making the point so graphically is hurtful and wrong. I am sorry for the pain that caused.”
The scene no longer appears on Netflix. The episode will be broadcast in its updated version during syndication airings, and when The Office moves to NBCUniversal’s streaming platform Peacock in 2021.
Scrubs and 30 Rock are also among the shows that have recently pulled some of their content to remove instances of blackface.
