Gone with the Wind removed from HBO Max because of ‘racist depictions’
Gone with the Wind has been removed from the HBO Max streaming service amid concerns over its racist depiction of black characters.
The 1939 epic, long considered a classic, was taken down in the wake of global anti-racism protests following the death of George Floyd while being arrested by Minneapolis police.
An HBO Max representative told Variety: “Gone With The Wind is a product of its time and depicts some of the ethnic and racial prejudices that have, unfortunately, been commonplace in American society.
“These racist depictions were wrong then and are wrong today, and we felt that to keep this title up without an explanation and a denouncement of those depictions would be irresponsible.”
They continued: “These depictions are certainly counter to WarnerMedia’s values, so when we return the film to HBO Max, it will return with a discussion of its historical context and a denouncement of those very depictions, but will be presented as it was originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed.
“If we are to create a more just, equitable and inclusive future, we must first acknowledge and understand our history.”
Gone with the Wind is set on a plantation near Atlanta after the US civil war. It stars Vivienne Leigh, Clark Gable and Olivia de Havilland.
Hattie McDaniel became the first Black person to win an Oscar for her supporting role in the film, for her role as “Mammy”, the house servant.
After Parasite became the first foreign-language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture earlier this year, US president Donald Trump cited Gone with the Wind as a preferred alternative, saying: “Can we get, like, Gone with the Wind back, please?”
HBO Max are not the only ones scrutinising their own product amid the ongoing anti-racist protests. Yesterday (9 June), it was announced that streaming services including Netflix, BBC iPlayer and BritBox are removing Matt Lucas and David Walliam’s noughties sketch series Little Britain from their catalogues, due to the series’ much-criticised use of blackface.
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