The Mighty Boosh pulled from Netflix over ‘blackface’ character

Noel Fielding’s The Mighty Boosh has become the latest show to be pulled from Netflix over scenes containing blackface. 

The BBC comedy follows The League Of Gentlemen and Little Britain in being dropped by the streaming service in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement.  

The Mighty Boosh features a character called The Spirit Of Jazz, portrayed by show creator Fielding, which is meant to portray the ghost of fictional jazz musician Howlin’ Jimmy Jefferson.

The actor and comic, 47, is yet to respond to Netflix’s decision to pull the series from the streaming service. MailOnline has contacted a spokesperson for comment. 

Shows are being binned from the streaming service following the recent Black Lives Matter protests that have been taking place primarily in the US and the UK.

Fielding – who these days presents The Great British Bake Off – played a black, dreadlocked character in his erstwhile off-the-wall sitcom, which aired from 1998–2009, with a one-off in 2013.

The Spirit Of Jazz has sparked much discussion over racism, with Fielding also finding himself in hot water after a picture emerged of him painted black while dressed as tennis star Bjorn Borg.

The League Of Gentlemen was pulled because of its blackface character Papa Lazarou – and more films and TV shows face removal from streaming services over ‘racist’ stereotypes.

The controversial character was played by white actor Reece Shearsmith. It has been heavily criticised over the years for his painted face.  

The show was pulled from Netflix in the UK a week ahead of its expiry date of June 19, alongside Canadian series The Drunk And On Drugs Happy Funtime Hour which also features two characters in blackface.

Netflix has also removed comedian Chris Lilley’s controversial shows Summer Heights High, We Can Be Heroes, Jonah From Tonga and Angry Boys from the platform in Australia and New Zealand, Deadline reported. 

His most recent series Lunatics, which was created in collaboration with Netflix, is still available to stream despite accusations of racism and blackface in Lilley’s portrayal of a trans-racial woman.  

Netflix have added a Black Lives Matter section to their streaming service. 

In a statement detailing the move, Netflix explained the aim is to highlight ‘powerful and complex narratives about the Black experience’. 

The Black Lives Matter section of the site features 47 films and series including Beyonce’s Homecoming, Dear White People and When They See Us.  

A spokesperson for the streaming service explained: ‘When we say Black Lives Matter, we also mean Black storytelling matters…

‘With an understanding that our commitment to true, systemic change will take time – we’re starting by highlighting powerful and complex narratives about the Black experience…

‘When you log onto Netflix today, you will see a carefully curated list of titles that only begin to tell the complex and layered stories about racial injustice and Blackness in America.’

On Wednesday, Ant and Dec issued an apology to their Twitter followers for ‘impersonating people of colour’ during ‘comedy’ sketches on Saturday Night Takeaway.

They took to the micro-blogging site on Wednesday evening, posting: ‘During past episodes of Saturday Night Takeaway we impersonated people of colour in the undercover segment of the show.

‘We realise that this was wrong and want to say that we are sincerely sorry to everyone that was offended. 

‘We purposely stopped doing this several years ago and certainly would not make these sketches today 

‘We had already taken steps to ensure footage was taken down, and have again recently confirmed with ITV that these segments, and any other historical content that could cause offence, does not appear on either the ITV Hub or the Saturday Night Takeaway YouTube channel.’

Last year, the pair were slammed when old footage of the duo in blackface resurfaced.

During some of their many Ant & Dec Undercover sketches on the hit ITV show, the presenting duo changed their skin colour and wore prosthetics to portray made up characters in an effort to trick their famous friends.

One of the most controversial skits saw them dress up as two fictional Jamaican women, ‘Patty and Bernice’, in an attempt to prank Emmerdale cast members, in 2003. 

Little Britain has been removed from Netflix, BBC iPlayer and BritBox amid concerns that the use of blackface characters on the series is no longer acceptable.  

In an apparent reaction to the Black Lives Matter protests, Netflix pulled the Matt Lucas, 46, and David Walliams, 48, series on Friday, along with the pair’s other comedy Come Fly With Me.

On Monday, the BBC and BritBox both confirmed they had also decided to remove Little Britain saying ‘times have changed’ since the show first aired. 

When asked if more shows would be removed, a BBC spokesman told MailOnline: ‘The change only affects Little Britain.’  

Gone With The Wind has also been temporarily removed by HBO Max from its streaming platform after it was criticised for romanticising slavery.

The 1939 Civil War epic, starring Clark Gable as Rhett Butler and Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara, is based on a novel written three years previously by Margaret Mitchell. 

It tells the story of a turbulent romance during the Civil War and Reconstruction period. Hattie McDaniel, who would have been 127 today, won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film, becoming the first African American to win an Oscar. 

The film has been viewed through a more critical lens in recent years, with many questioning whether a film that glosses over the horrors of slavery should still be shown. 

The League Of Gentlemen, which was created by the BBC, and three of Chris Lilley’s shows are still currently available to watch through the broadcaster’s streaming service. 

Stars of The League of Gentleman have previously defended the controversial Papa Lazarou character, with Shearsmith telling the Independent in February: ‘It was not me doing a black man.’

‘It was always this clown-like make-up and we just came up with what we thought was the scariest idea to have in a sort of Child Catcher-like way,’ he added. ‘And I don’t think we ever had any complaints then.’ 

The show, which stars Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Shearsmith, follows a number of residents from the fictional town of Royston Vasey. It premiered on BBC Two in 1999.     

Its removal from Netflix follows All 4’s decision to axe Bo’ Selecta, which impersonated black stars such as Craig David, Trisha Goddard and Michael Jackson.

It was pulled from All 4 after creator Leigh Francis recently issued a tearful apology. It is, however, still available on Prime Video.

The second round of removals suggests an uncertain future for other popular comedy series which feature similar techniques, though many are still available to watch on streaming sites.  

Friday’s decision by Netflix to remove Lucas and Walliams’ two series sparked anger from subscribers to the service, who were annoyed when they discovered the two shows had been dropped.

Journalist and former MEP Daniel Hannan was among those to speak out.

He wrote: ‘There is an unbearable smugness in rushing to condemn Ali G, Bo’ Selecta or other shows that were fine until the day before yesterday. As if to say, ‘You all thought this was fine, but look – I’m more sensitive than you’. Hmmm. Maybe you’re just more priggish.’

But the company is understood to have believed it was the right thing to do.

The move is likely to lead to calls for more outdated shows that may be seen as racist to be removed.  

Those angered by the move said they were ‘fuming’ and ‘gutted’ at the decision. 

Some viewers complained they were in the middle of watching the series. 

One viewer said people should be able to make their ‘own choices’.

But others have expressed growing unease about watching sketches which featured the comedians wearing make up to portray different races, amid claims it was offensive. 

One viewer said they were ‘shocked’ that it had been available. 

In Little Britain, David Walliams wore make up to play health-spa guest Desiree DeVere. In Come Fly With Me, he played ‘passenger liaison officer’ Moses Beacon and airline boss Omar Baba, while Lucas’ characters included coffee shop worker Precious Little.

The BBC’s iPlayer was airing the first series of Little Britain which included a scene where the pair were made-up to look like blackface entertainers. But has now taken the series down.

A spokesman for the BBC said: ‘There’s a lot of historical programming available on BBC iPlayer, which we regularly review. Times have changed since Little Britain first aired so it is not currently available on BBC iPlayer.’ 

BritBox, the streaming service from ITV and the BBC, which had been showing three series of Little Britain, has now also removed the show.

It said last night: ‘Times have changed since Little Britain first aired, so it is not currently available on BritBox. Come Fly With Me has not been available on the service for six months.’

There had been a mixed reaction to Netflix’s decision to remove both Little Britain and The League of Gentlemen from the service.

One user said on Twitter: ‘League of Gentlemen has been removed from Netflix for use of blackface.

‘There are no words.’ 

Another wrote: ‘Absolutely furious that Little Britain and Come Fly With Me have been taken off Netflix.’ 

 ‘Little Britain and Come Fly With Me have both been removed from Netflix….so now I can’t watch these shows because you don’t like it?,’ said a third. 

‘I want to live in a free country and make my own choices. Not an oppressive regime where I’m told what I can and can’t watch.’

But another viewer said on Friday: ‘I’m guilty for watching Little Britain and Come Fly With Me and looking past the black face but we all must face up and accept this was unacceptable and it’s still shown on Netflix.’

Another person speaking at the end of last week told Netflix: ‘Take Little Britain down. 

‘Please do not endorse a show which perpetuates stereotypes of minority groups and makes a laughing stock of people who have to fight for basic equality within life.’

This comes after comedian Leigh Francis tearfully apologised for impersonating black stars on his show Bo’ Selecta. 

He said he had been thinking about his Channel 4 show and had not realised at the time how offensive it was. 

A Channel 4 spokeswoman said: ‘We support Leigh in his decision to reflect on Bo Selecta in light of recent events and we’ve agreed with him to remove the show from the All 4 archive.’

Moreover, Gone With The Wind has been temporarily removed by HBO Max from its streaming platform after it was criticized for romanticizing slavery, amid a nationwide re-evaluation of cultural values.

The 1939 Civil War epic, starring Clark Gable as Rhett Butler and Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara, is based on a novel written three years previously by Margaret Mitchell.

It tells the story of a turbulent romance during the Civil War and Reconstruction period. Hattie McDaniel, who would’ve been 127 today, won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, becoming the first African American to win an Oscar.

Yet the film has been viewed through a more critical lens in recent years, with many questioning whether a film that glosses over the horrors of slavery should still be shown.

On Monday, John Ridley, screenwriter for 12 Years A Slave, wrote in the Los Angeles Times that the film should potentially be removed.

‘It doesn’t just ‘fall short’ with regard to representation,’ he wrote.

‘It is a film that glorifies the antebellum south. It is a film that, when it is not ignoring the horrors of slavery, pauses only to perpetuate some of the most painful stereotypes of people of color.

‘It is a film that, as part of the narrative of the ‘Lost Cause,’ romanticizes the Confederacy in a way that continues to give legitimacy to the notion that the secessionist movement was something more, or better, or more noble than what it was — a bloody insurrection to maintain the ‘right’ to own, sell and buy human beings.’

The film was controversial from the beginning.

African American film critic Earl J. Morris, who wrote for the black Pittsburgh Courier newspaper, urged readers to write to the Motion Picture Producers Association and demand that the ‘n-word’ be removed from the script, because it featured heavily in the novel.