Mad Men explains why it isn’t removing its blackface episode

One of the greatest TV shows of all time will be soon free from July 15th to stream on IMDb television. But before Mad Men gets there, producer Lionsgate has made his decision to keep an episode about using Blackface amidst a host of other shows that have made racially sensitive episodes.

“This episode contains disturbing images related to races in America,” Lionsgate said in a Los Angeles Times statement that will also serve as a disclaimer prior to the episode. “One of the characters is shown in black as part of an episode that shows how everyday racism was in America in 1963.”

“In their trust in historical authenticity, series producers are committed to uncovering the injustices and injustices in our society that continue to this day so that we can examine even the most painful parts of our history to think about who we are today and who we are we want to be. We therefore present the original sequence in its entirety. “

The episode in question is the third of season three, titled My Old Kentucky Home. At a country club party, Roger Stirling (John Slattery) has a black face as he serenades Jane (Peyton List) with My Old Kentucky Home, an anti-slavery ballad by Stephen Foster that was probably composed in 1852 the black face: “I did this for her at home with a little shoe polish. She thought it was a scream.”

Jon Hamm’s character Don Draper appears to be clearly uncomfortable in the scene and asks his wife Betty (January Jones) if they can go.

Lionsgate’s decision to record the episode of the American drama through a fictional advertising agency in the 1960s takes a different route to shows like 30 Rock, Scrubs, Community, The Office and The Golden Girls, which all triggered episodes with Blackface concerns.

Mad Men’s decision was received with mixed feedback.

Community actress Yvette Nicole Brown tweeted, “I watched this episode and it was the last episode of #MadMen I’ve ever seen. I thought it wasn’t a show made for people like me. But I am sure, the new disclaimer does everything well. ” for each.”

Another user questioned the need for disclaimers and tweeted, “Will every # madmen episode also have a disclaimer that says, ‘This episode contains disturbing images that show what everyday sexism was like in America in the 1960s?’ “