Amazon

“Tom and Jerry” Comes With Racism Warning on Amazon Prime

Fans of the cartoon classic “Tom and Jerry” will now encounter a warning about racism when they queue up the series “Tom and Jerry: The Complete Second Volume” on Amazon Prime.

“'Tom & Jerry shorts may depict some ethnic and racial prejudices that were once commonplace in American society,” Amazon’s warning says. “Such depictions were wrong then and are wrong today.”

One of the most racist caricatures in the 1940's-era animated short series is Mammy Two Shoes, a black maid whose house is often the setting for Tom and Jerry’s antics, the A.V. Club explained.

It isn’t the first time “Tom and Jerry” has come with a disclaimer. A previously released DVD came with an on-screen warning from Whoopi Goldberg, in which she explains that the cartoons contain humor that can be considered offensive — as well as the rationale behind why producers decided not to remove the scenes.

“Removing Mammy Two Shoes would be the same as pretending she never existed,” Goldberg says, calling the scenes “a part of our history that cannot and should not be ignored.”

Watch the full disclaimer below, or here.

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