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Netflix has removed most of Chris Lilley's catalog from its Australian and New Zealand platform because of blackface and racial discrimination. This comes in the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement and a global push for equality.
Angry Boys, Summer Heights High, We Can Be Heroes, and Jonah From Tonga were all removed from the streaming service because of ongoing controversy surrounding racist characters.
The series Little Britain was also removed because of blackface. Its follow up series, Come Fly With Me, was taken down on Friday, too.
Lilley is a 45-year-old comedian, writer and actor from Sydney, Australia. His comedy has long been considered controversial because of racial insensitivities, which was made clear in Twitter conversations surrounding the Netflix decision.
The bizarre thing about Chris Lilley was that, even though his shows were clearly racist, somehow all the arty-farty luvvies thought HE was ok. It's not as though we didn't know blackface was wrong at the time, so why did the ABC indulge this talentless fellow?
— ???̲?̲?̲?̲?̲?̲?̲?̲?̲?̲?̲?̲?̲?̲? (@forlornfollower) June 10, 2020
Chris Lilley just got taken down from Netflix like a racist statue
— Aamer Rahman (@aamer_rahman) June 10, 2020
iPlayer and Netflix should get rid of anything involving the awful Chris Lilley next, this just looks performative otherwise. He has a habit of wearing black/brown/yellowface and perpetuating offensive stereotypes for “comedy” https://t.co/aye8p2aZfN pic.twitter.com/XI34fELtZa
— ✨ Dean Tāne ✨ (@Maccadaynu) June 9, 2020
cc: all Australians who still love Chris Lilley’s blackface & brownface shows! give it a think! https://t.co/CR9rcbERXN
— Jo Bradley (@JoLucyBradley) June 10, 2020
Others stand by Lilley's comedy, despite the blackface. Some Twitter users argued that comedy doesn't need to be politically correct, and that viewers can learn something from Lilley's content.
I will always love @ChrisLilley It’s called a sense of humour! The man you called a genius oh how you turn on him so quickly ..... what a load of little sheep you are! #alllivesmatter #notaracist #chrislilley #hiratty
— Susan'BoomBoom'Ratty (@susan_ratty) June 10, 2020
I disagree with pulling Little Britain off streaming services, if you don’t like it or are offended than don’t watch it. Next they’ll remove all of Aussie comedian Chris Lilley’s shows for the use of blackface/brownface and cultural appropriation.@rickygervais
— Kalirae (@Kalirae12) June 10, 2020
What??! People are trying to cancel @ChrisLilley too?! STOP; this cancelling spree is madness and achieves nothing.
— Daisy Cousens (@DaisyCousens) June 10, 2020
Also, if 'Ja'mie: Private School Girl' gets taken off Netflix as well, for whatever ambiguous reason people may concoct, then it is OFFICIALLY personal ?
Two of Lilley's comedies are still streaming on Netflix: Lunatics, which aired in 2019, and Ja'mie: Private School Girl. Lilley has been slammed for Lunatics, in which one of Lilley's characters is a South African woman named Jana, and his look is complete with darker skin and an afro. But Lilley is "not portraying a woman of colour," according to producer Laura Walters.
Some of Twitter wants to see Lunatics removed, too.
will you be removing ‘Lunatics’ then @netflix? Chris Lilley is known for blackfacing and probably was in this show too. it released last year!
— 💤 (@melanccoli) June 10, 2020
Hey @netflix while you’re pulling Little Britain how about you stop funding shows that still use black face like Chris Lilley’s Lunatics on @NetflixANZ
— Xavier Sans (@XavierSans8) June 10, 2020
It’s sick how Netflix were “brave†enough to overcome Chris Lilley having just built a career on racist stereotypes and STILL give him his own terrible new series, Lunatics, where he does blackface again.
— Tash âš“ï¸ (@xxTash23xx) June 10, 2020
By the way, this was LAST YEAR!
While Netflix has made decisions to remove much of Lilley's content from its platform, the BBC isn't doing the same. The British channel removed Little Britain at the same time as Netflix but kept Lilley's other content streaming. Viewers can still watch Angry Boys, Summer Heights High, We Can Be Heroes and Jonah From Tonga on the BBC's website.
This is far from the first time Lilley has been called out for blackface and racial insensitivity. In 2017, a song he wrote and performed called "Squashed N****" resurfaced on his Instagram. He'd originally performed the song in blackface as a part of Angry Boys circa 2009. The song features Lilley saying the N-word multiple times.
The reason Lilley posted the song again eight years later? It was a remix created by a fan. His apology addressed the video's timing, which coincided with global events.
"My social media pages are run for me to give fans nostalgic pics or clips from previous TV shows," he wrote on Twitter. "A fan made a remix from a song from Angry Boys made in 2009 was posted recently. It is not connected in any way to current news stories. I apologize for any hurt caused by the misinterpretation."
Newsweek reached out to Lilley for comment but didn't immediately hear back.
About the writer
Kelly started a career in journalism after completing her education at The New School in New York City. She currently ... Read more