Greg Daniels re-edits a The Office Season 9 episode to remove a blackface scene: "I am sorry for the pain that caused"

TheWrap

The December 2012 Season 9 episode "Dwight Christmas" features a brief joke of Mark Proksch's warehouse worker Nate wearing blackface while in costume as Zwarte Piet, or Black Pete, who is "a slave boy often portrayed in colorful pantaloons and blackface.” Daniels has re-edited the episode to remove that scene. The new cut is now available on Netflix and will be part of The Office when it premieres next year on Peacock. “The Office is about a group of people trying to work together with mutual respect despite the inappropriate actions of their boss and assistant manager,” Daniels said in a statement to TheWrap. “The show employed satire to expose unacceptable behavior and deliver a message of inclusion. Today we cut a shot of an actor wearing blackface that was used to criticize a specific racist European practice. Blackface is unacceptable and making the point so graphically is hurtful and wrong. I am sorry for the pain that caused.”