Advertisement

Rebel Wilson says 'Little Britain' removal is 'crazy' as she defends friend Matt Lucas

Actor Matt Lucas and comic Rebel Wilson arrive at Variety's 1st annual Power Of Comedy event at Club Nokia on December 4, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Barry King/FilmMagic)
Actor Matt Lucas and comic Rebel Wilson arrive at Variety's 1st annual Power Of Comedy event at Club Nokia on December 4, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Barry King/FilmMagic)

Rebel Wilson has defended her friend Matt Lucas after Little Britain was pulled from multiple streaming services last week in the wake of global anti-racism protests.

The BBC comedy has received criticism over the years for Lucas and David Walliams' use of blackface and stereotypes but was pulled from iPlayer, BritBox and Netflix last week with the BBC stating that "times had changed" since it first aired.

Wilson, who lived with the comedian in LA for three years, was interviewed by Australia's Studio 10 where she discussed what should happen to material now deemed "not acceptable".

Read more: Gone With the Wind temporarily removed from streaming service

"I'm not a fan of just erasing things," the Cats actor said. "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."

Comedian Matt Lucas attends the 2014 International Academy Of Television Arts & Sciences Awards at the New York Hilton on November 24, 2014 in New York City.  (Photo by Jim Spellman/WireImage)
Comedian Matt Lucas attends the 2014 International Academy Of Television Arts & Sciences Awards at the New York Hilton on November 24, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Jim Spellman/WireImage)

She went on: "Matt Lucas' show Little Britain got pulled, which I just think is a bit crazy. They obviously played many different characters on that show."

Lucas and Walliams issued an almost identical apology on Saturday evening where they highlighted that they had previously expressed regret over performing in black and brown face.

A tweet posted by Lucas read: "David and I have both spoken publicly in recent years of our regret that we played characters of other races.

Matt Lucas and David Walliams during Signing and Photo Call for "Little Britain" at Virgin Megastore in London, Great Britain. (Photo by Mike Marsland/WireImage)
Matt Lucas and David Walliams during Signing and Photo Call for "Little Britain" at Virgin Megastore in London, Great Britain. (Photo by Mike Marsland/WireImage)

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

It comes as other TV shows have been taken down from on demand services, including The League of Gentlemen which was also removed from Netflix last week.

The comedy series contained the character ‘Papa Lazarou’ who was depicted by actor Reece Shearsmith wearing a painted black face. However, a reason for its removal was not given by the streaming site.

Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK’s ‘Up Close and Socially Distant’