Gone With the Wind Removed From HBO Max Over 'Racist Depictions’

HBO Max has removed Gone With the Wind from its streaming library. 

The announcement comes following a number of calls for the streamer to take action, in light of the global protests for racial equality. 

HBO Max maintains, however, the movie will return to streaming with a disclaimer. 

“Gone With the Wind is a product of its time and depicts some of the ethnic and racial prejudices that have, unfortunately, been commonplace in American society," a statement from the streamer reads.

"These racist depictions were wrong then and are wrong today, and we felt that to keep this title up without an explanation and a denouncement of those depictions would be irresponsible."

"These depictions are certainly counter to WarnerMedia’s values, so when we return the film to HBO Max, it will return with a discussion of its historical context and a denouncement of those very depictions, but will be presented as it was originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed."

"If we are to create a more just, equitable and inclusive future, we must first acknowledge and understand our history.”

Released in 1939, Gone With the Wind won eight Oscars, including Best Picture and was a box office success. 

It made history when Hattie McDaniel became the first black American to win an Oscar for her performance. 

HBO Max, which launched last month, regularly used the movie in promotional material. 

The movie's depiction of Civil War-era America and the whitewashing of slavery, as well as the current 

On Monday, 12 Years a Slave Oscar-winning screenwriter John Ridley wrote an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times calling for HBO Max to remove Gone With the Wind from its platform.

"It is a film that, when it is not ignoring the horrors of slavery, pauses only to perpetuate some of the most painful stereotypes of people of color," Ridley argued.

It was recently revealed that HBO Max has also banned the use of guns in the Looney Tunes reboot. 

What are your thoughts on this decision?

Hit the comments below. 

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