Hulu removes episodes of sitcom ‘Scrubs’ featuring blackface

Hulu has removed three episodes of the medical comedy “Scrubs” from its streaming platforms because the episodes included characters in blackface.

The show’s creator, Bill Lawrence, had asked Hulu to pull the episodes.

Variety reported Wednesday that the episodes, two from season 5 and one from season 3, were removed after Lawrence and ABC Studios jointly requested they be pulled down.

Lawrence had confirmed plans to do so on Twitter a day earlier.

Agreed. Already in the works.

— Bill Lawrence (@VDOOZER) June 23, 2020

According to Variety, the scenes in question apparently included use of blackface by two of the show’s stars, Zach Braff and Sarah Chalke, neither of whom have addressed the change on their social media accounts.

The news comes a day after it was reported that Tina Fey, creator and star of the NBC comedy “30 Rock,” had made a similar request for episodes of her show containing use of blackface to be removed from circulation.

“As we strive to do the work and do better in regards to race in America, we believe that these episodes featuring actors in race-changing makeup are best taken out of circulation. I understand now that ‘intent’ is not a free pass for white people to use these images,” Fey said in a statement.

“I apologize for pain they have caused. Going forward, no comedy-loving kid needs to stumble on these tropes and be stung by their ugliness. I thank NBCUniversal for honoring this request,” Fey said.