EXCLUSIVE: The BBC has performed a u-turn over clips of Australian comedian Chris Lilley in blackface, quietly deleting them from its website on Wednesday.
Deadline asked the BBC twice earlier today if 10 clips of Lilley playing character S.mouse in Angry Boys would remain on its website, and twice the BBC stood by the content.
“The change only affects Little Britain,” it told me, referring to a decision on Tuesday to take down Little Britain from iPlayer after the David Walliams and Matt Lucas comedy featured blackface sketches.
But now, the Chris Lilley clips have vanished. A version of the web page archived by Deadline earlier today shows the selection of Angry Boys clips. This has now been replaced by a page that says: “There are currently no available clips.”
The excerpts included a music video in which Lilley, playing S.mouse, repeatedly used the n-word. In another sketch, the character rapped about his “big black balls.”
Despite deleting the Angry Boys clips, Lilley’s other comedies, Summer Heights High and We Can Be Heroes, remain on the BBC’s streaming service iPlayer.
In contrast, Deadline revealed today that Netflix has removed the Princess Pictures shows from its services in Australia and New Zealand. Angry Boys and Jonah From Tonga were also taken down.
Summer Heights High and Jonah From Tonga include Jonah Takalua, for which Lilley wore brown makeup. In We Can Be Heroes, Lilley plays Chinese physics student Ricky Wong.