London – One of the most memorable episodes of one of the most popular British sitcoms of all-time has been withdrawn from a U.…
London – One of the most memorable episodes of one of the most popular British sitcoms of all-time has been withdrawn from a U. K. streaming service because of numerous racial slurs.
UKTV, a streaming service owned by the BBC, confirmed Friday that it was temporarily removing the 1975 Fawlty Towers episode “The Germans.”
The decision is part of a backlash against racism in the wake of the May 25 death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee to his neck.
That backlash has been most visibly seen in the protests against statues of slave traders and other historic figures associated with imperialism and racism.
In the episode, hotel owner Basil Fawlty is seen rocking back when a black man approaches him in the hospital where his wife Sybil is readying for an operation on an in-growing toenail, only to find out that he’s the doctor.
