Mad Men won’t remove blackface scenes to preserve ‘historical accuracy’

‘We can examine the most painful parts of our history in order to reflect on who we are today,’ a representative said

An episode of Mad Men containing blackface will not be removed from streaming services.

With shows, including 30 Rock and Scrubs, pulling episodes containing the racist practice from their catalogue, fans had questioned whether the same treatment would be given to the acclaimed drama starring Jon Hamm.

However, with the show moving to IMDb TV on 15 July, a representative for Lionsgate told The Los Angeles Times that the episode would instead be preceded by a disclaimer warning against outdated attitudes in the period show.

“This episode contains disturbing images related to race in America,” they said. “One of the characters is shown in blackface as part of an episode that shows how commonplace racism was in America in 1963.

“In its reliance on historical authenticity, the series producers are committed to exposing the injustices and inequities within our society that continue to this day so we can examine even the most painful parts of our history in order to reflect on who we are today and who we want to become.”

They concluded that the original episode will be “presented in its entirety”.

The scene, which appears in season three, sees Roger Sterling (John Slattery) sing anti-slavery ballad “My Old Kentucky Home” in blackface at a country club Derby party.

At one point, Sterling remarks, “I did this at home for her with a little shoe polish. She thought it was a scream.”

Many platforms are choosing to add these disclaimers to their shows rather than edit them completely, with BBC iPlayer this week adding warnings to a number of their classic comedies removed from Netflix.

The streaming service notes that these unedited episodes “reflect the broadcast standards, language and attitudes of its time”.