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The Office is editing a Season 9 episode that showed a character wearing blackface. Series creator Greg Daniels and NBCUniversal have removed the scene showing blackface, and have added an edited version of the episode to streaming platforms and TV reruns, The Wrap reports.
The blackface scene was previously included in an old version of “Dwight’s Christmas,” Episode 909, which aired in 2012. The episode has now been replaced on Netflix, and the edited version will added to Peacock in 2021 when The Office moves to its new streaming home there.
In “Dwight’s Christmas,” Dwight (Rainn Wilson) tries to get his coworkers in the Christmas spirit using his own family traditions with a Schrute Family Pennsylvania Dutch Christmas. He comes into the office dressed as Belsnickel, a St. Nicholas-inspired character from South German folklore, but Oscar (Oscar Nunez) looks up the character and discovers his unsavory roots.
Oscar informs Dwight that Belsnickel’s partner, Zwarte Piet/Black Peter, is “a slave boy often portrayed in colorful pantaloons and blackface.” Dwight replies, “Oh, come on. We don’t blindly stick to every outmoded aspect of our traditions. Come on, get with the spirit of it, you guys!”
He’s then shown grabbing his phone and sending a quick text, which goes to warehouse employee Nate (Mark Proksch), who is wearing full blackface and dressed as Zwarte Piet. He turns around after Dwight’s text, and later returns the the office Christmas celebration with most of the black makeup wiped away.
“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,” Daniels told The Wrap in a statement today. “The show employed satire to expose unacceptable behavior and deliver a message of inclusion. Today we cut a shot of an actor wearing blackface that was used to criticize 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 Office news comes the same week two other sitcoms edited their episodes because of blackface. Both Scrubs and 30 Rock removed episodes that showed characters in blackface after the creators requested they be taken off of streaming and syndication.
