Gone with the Wind is no longer available on HBO Max because of its portrayal of race and slavery.
The streaming service announced on Tuesday that it would remove the historic 1939 movie from its library of films. The decision comes amid heightened racial tension following the death of George Floyd and the subsequent protests that have popped up in dozens of cities around the country against institutional racism and police brutality.
A spokesperson for HBO Max said that 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,” according to CNN.
“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,” the spokesperson continued, adding that the movie would return at an unspecified date along with a “discussion” about the historical connotations of the film’s portrayal of slavery, African Americans, and the Civil War South.
Gone with the Wind “will return with a discussion of its historical context and a denouncement of those very depictions,” the spokesperson said, noting that it will be presented “as it was originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed.”
The movie won ten Academy Awards, while being nominated for thirteen, including best picture, best director, best adapted screenplay, best actress, and best supporting actress. Hattie McDaniel became the first black person to win an Academy Award for her portrayal of “Mammy.”
