SCRUBS' creator has predicted the axed blackface episodes will return to streamers before hitting out at fan backlash.
It was confirmed last week that three episodes of the hit US medical comedyhad been removed from streaming service Hulu as they featured cast members in blackface.
The shows creator, Bill Lawrence, has taken full responsibility of the its use of blackface, telling Scrubs podcast Fake Doctors, Real Friends: "The reason why that word ‘showrunner’ exists in television is because you’re the gatekeeper, and anything that gets allowed on a show you ultimately have to take responsibility for.
“So, first off, super sorry that any of you guys had to deal with any stuff because… even though we’re all friends and it was a super creative and reciprocal environment, you guys still, at the end of the day, did and were receptive to doing whatever stuff we told you [to do].”
He continued: "It starts with ignorance. We almost thought that we had… a free pass to not have those thoughts [about the history of blackface] back then because we were so f***ing proud of ourselves for doing a very diverse show, in front of and behind the camera.
"[We had a] great black-and-white friendship that exists as a real black-and-white friendship, a great interracial couple… It was almost a block of arrogance where we were like, 'We’re so good at what we’re portraying and doing and showing that we could never venture into muddy waters.’
"And even now, with that same ignorance, we never really connected the two of those things until now. You do the reading, and it’s not any different.”
During the lengthy discussion, Bill said the episodes could return to streaming services once he removes the offensive scenes, and hit out at fans who had kicked off about the three episodes being removed.
He said: "Twitter is like, ‘Why did you pull the whole episodes?’ Why didn’t you just edit those moments out and put them back on?’
"And I said to one person, ‘It’s a pandemic. I don’t really have an editing facility up right now.’
"I’ll probably do that, but the first thing I wanted to do was get them off TV because it bummed me out personally. It just made me feel s***ty.”
The episodes in question were season 3's "My Friend the Doctor" and the season 5 episodes "My Jiggly Ball" and "My Chopped Liver."
One featured Zach Braff's character J.D wearing blackface at a party in a flashback scene, while Sarah Chalke's character Elliot wore blackface in a fantasy scene.
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