Little Britain: Rebel Wilson says show’s removal from streaming services is ‘a bit crazy’

‘There’s been a lot of social justice going on, which has made it difficult for comedians to flirt with that line’

Actor Rebel Wilson has described Little Britain‘s removal from streaming services as “a little bit crazy”.

The controversial Noughties sketch show was taken down from Netflix, BBC iPlayer and BritBox amid concerns over David Walliams’s and Matt Lucas’s use of blackface.

Wilson, who used to live with Little Britain co-creator Lucas and is a long-term friend, addressed the news during an interview on Australian news show Studio 10.

The JoJo Rabbit star said: “Matt Lucas’s show Little Britain got pulled, which I just think is a bit crazy. They obviously played many different characters on that show.”

“At the moment we’re in the time of hyper-social justice as there are so many important things happening in the world.

She continued: “Obviously right now racial equality is such an important issue. But for the past few years, especially with the #MeToo movement, there’s been a lot of social justice going on, which has made it difficult for comedians to flirt with that line.”

“The thing is, throughout history, from way back with the court jesters in the monarchy, a comedian’s job is to flirt with the line of what’s acceptable.”

“I’m not a fan of just erasing things. I think with history, you should learn from it. If you erase it, it’s a bit like denying it ever happened. That doesn’t seem like a good plan!”

In the series, Walliams used black makeup and an afro wig to play the character Desiree DeVere, while Lucas used blackface to play Pastor Jesse King.

Both stars have apologised for the series’s use of blackface, saying that they “have both spoken publicly in recent years of our regret that we played characters of other races”.

“Once again we want to make it clear that it was wrong and we are very sorry.”