Hulu has removed an episode of The Golden Girls for a blackface joke, which featured stars Rue McClanahan and Betty White wearing mud masks, according to Deadline.
In the episode, Mixed Blessings, which aired in 1988, Dorothy’s (Bea Arthur) son Michael (Scott Jacoby) announces his intention to marry an older Black woman, despite his mother’s hesitations about their significant age difference.
Michael girlfriend’s girlfriend, Lorraine, and her family arrive, shortly after Blanche (McClanahan) and Rose (White) have applied a dark brown mud masks.
In poor taste: Hulu has removed an episode of The Golden Girls for a blackface joke, which featured stars Rue McClanahan and Betty White wearing mud masks
‘This is mud on our faces, we’re not really Black ,’ Rose says, as she attempts to break the tension.
Later in the exchange, Lorraine’s mother voices her disapproval of the interracial union because she doesn’t want her daughter to tie the knot with ‘a skinny white boy.’
When Dorothy expresses she isn’t keen about the pair’s relationship, Lorraine’s mom Greta (Virginia Capers) asks, ‘Oh ya, why? Do you have something against black people?’
Controversial joke: In the episode , Mixed Blessings, which aired in 1988, Dorothy’s (Bea Arthur) son Michael (Scott Jacoby) announces his intention to marry an older Black woman, despite his mother’s hesitations about their significant age difference
‘Of course, not! And, I resent the insinuation! Why we firmly believe that all men are created equal,’ says Dorothy’s pal Blanche Devereaux, while appearing next to Rose Nylund in blackface.
Rose quickly interjects to say, ‘That’s a bunch of baloney.’
As everyone in the room looks horrified, she jokes they should turn on the television and watch ‘a white person dance down the line on Soul Train.’
‘This is mud on our faces, we’re not really Black ,’ Rose says, as she attempts to break the tension
Tension: Lorraine’s mother voiced her disapproval of the interracial union because she doesn’t want her daughter to tie the knot with ‘a skinny white boy’
‘Race is not even an issue, your daughter is twice my son’s age,’ Dorothy fires. ‘What can a woman in his forties possibly have in common with a boy in his twenties?’
Blanche quickly replies, from across the room, ‘Sex!’
Greta goes on to tell her daughter she doesn’t mind the age difference, but urged her to date a young Black man, instead.
‘Now, what do you say, can we all join hands and sing a chorus of the 1968 song Abraham, Martin and John?’ Rose asks.
Rose attempts to stop the fighting by reminding the families that the couple is in love and suggests, ‘We should be celebrating, not arguing whether or not it’s right!’
‘Can we all join hands and sing a chorus of the 1968 song Abraham, Martin and John?’ Rose asks, referring to a song created to honor Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy.
‘Is she for real?’ Greta asks, while Dorothy confirms her friends’ eccentric behavior is sincere.
‘Is she for real?’ Greta asks, while Dorothy confirms her friends’ sincerity and eccentric behavior
‘Frightening isn’t it? Dorothy answers.
The hit sitcom, which ran from 1985–1992, joins a number of popular television shows that have episodes being taken down or edited due to characters in blackface.
Others have included 30 Rock, Community and The Office.