'Soul': Tina Fey's '30 Rock' Blackface Controversy Stirred up Again After Pixar Movie's Release

Soul was released on Disney+ last week, and the reviews have been positive. However, it didn't [...]

By Brian Jones

Soul was released on Disney+ last week, and the reviews have been positive. However, it didn't take long for fans to bring up the controversy surrounding Tina Fey and the NBC show 30 Rock. In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, Fey, who was an executive producer on 30 Rock, requested four of the episodes be removed from streaming services. Of the four episodes, two of them include Jane Krakowski's Jenna character in blackface.

"As we strive to do the work and do better in regards to race in America, we believe that these episodes featuring actors in race-changing makeup are best taken out of circulation," Fey wrote on a little to the streaming platforms, as reported by Vulture in June. "I understand now that 'intent' is not a free pass for white people to use these images. I apologize for pain they have caused. Going forward, no comedy-loving kid needs to stumble on these tropes and be stung by their ugliness. I thank NBCUniversal for honoring this request."

When Soul was released, fans noticed that Fey voiced the main character for nearly half of the movie, and the main character is Black. That didn't sit well with most, and they expressed their frustration on social media.

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