Adult Swim has removed a number of “problematic” episodes from its shows from streaming platforms.
The affected shows are Aqua Teen Hunger Force, The Boondocks and The Shivering Truth.
A season six episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force titled ‘Shake Like Me’ (which features an animated equivalent of blackface) does not feature on HBO Max, while ‘The Story of Jimmy Rebel’ from season three of The Boondocks was also intentionally withheld from the platform due to the appearance of a famed racist country singer.
A representative for HBO Max told The Daily Beast that “neither of those episodes are part of our streaming deals” and added that both episodes were “permanently retired due to cultural sensitivities”.
Adult Swim also explained the decision, saying: “When Adult Swim transitions series to a new platform we determine what episodes are selected through creative and cultural filters and our standards and practices policies.
“Oftentimes these decisions are made in collaboration with the show’s creator.”
An episode of The Shivering Truth was also removed from the Adult Swim website directly, a season one episode titled ‘Ogled Inklings’.
The episode features a character being called a “dirty pig” and has been “temporarily rested” from the site. HBO Max said that this episode would be reinstated once The Shivering Truth is released on their platform.
In other Adult Swim news, Rick and Morty co-creator Dan Harmon recently addressed the controversy across animated TV shows regarding the recasting of characters of colour.
“The wave has gotten to the point where it’s huge now, but we’ve been in that water for a bit,” he said. “And I’ve – not even out of nobility, but out of pragmatism – I’ve always been of the mind that there’s a lot of actors out there.
“If we’re saying that it’s important part of a character they are of a certain background, the best way to do this is to find an actor of that background.”
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