Netflix pulls Chris Lilley shows amid BLM movement

By Neil Wilkes, Editor-in-chief

Published: June 10 2020 | 13:23

Last updated: July 15 2020 | 22:38

Netflix pulls all of Chris Lilley's series from its streaming service due to concerns over the use of blackface in some of his sketches.

Netflix has removed all of Chris Lilley's series from its platform in the wake of the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests.

Civil unrest is continuing around the globe following the death of George Floyd, an African-American man who was killed when a Minneapolis police officer restrained him by kneeling on his neck for almost nine minutes.

Yesterday Netflix pulled Little Britain and Come Fly With Me from the service due to concerns over the use of blackface in a number of sketches, and now Lilley's portfolio of shows has gone too.

The series Summer Heights High, We Can Be Heroes, Angry Boys and Jonah From Tonga all featured the comedian portraying a variety of different characters, including some of a different ethnicity.

In Angry Boys Lilley uses blackface for the character S.mouse, a rapper who uses the N-word and boasts about his "big black balls", while in Summer Heights High he played Jonah Takalua, a 13-year-old schoolboy of Tongan descent.

The BBC has yet to follow suit, with both Summer Heights High and Angry Boys still available on iPlayer.