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Notes -
Can you imagine if he'd gone in blackface? His career would have been finished before he got home that evening.
Well… Reece Shearsmith had a recurring blackface part on the BBC's League of Gentlemen comedy series in the 2000s and still got a cushy guest turn on Good Omens in pre-Gaiman-cancellation days when it was still Tumblr's favorite hyper-cozy comfort food without anyone raising much of an eyebrow. Likewise Matt Lucas of Little Britain (2003-2008) getting a recurring role on Doctor Who in 2016 in the season with the first black lesbian companion and the Doctor triumphantly punching a racist. Granted these are both British actors and I'm struggling to think of an American actor who got away with something similar in that time frame, but the relevant online fandoms were well-stocked with woke Americans so I'm not sure it should make that much of a difference.
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