AMC bosses won’t be pulling a controversial episode of Mad Men, featuring blackface from the network, in an effort to maintain “historical authenticity”.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the episode in question – season three’s My Old Kentucky Home – will be shown in its entirety, along with trigger warning ahead of the program, warning it contains “disturbing images related to race in America”.
“One of the characters is shown in blackface as part of an episode that shows how commonplace racism was in America in 1963,” it reads.
In a statement explaining the decision, AMC officials wrote, “in its reliance on historical authenticity, the series producers are committed to exposing the injustices and inequities within our society that continue to this day so we can examine even the most painful parts of our history in order to reflect on who we are today and who we want to become.
“We are therefore presenting the original episode in its entirety.”
Shows including 30 Rock, Golden Girls, Scrubs, and more have been pulled from various networks and streaming services due to episodes featuring blackface, in the wake of ongoing Black Lives Matter protests against systematic racism.
Mad Men stars Jon Hamm and January Jones, and ran from 2007 to 2015.
