Eric Andre refused to let the “middle-aged white people” at Netflix remove a police prank he performs on his upcoming comedy special Legalize Everything.
The scene sees the actor-comedian posing as a police officer and handing out fake drugs to strangers on the street in New Orleans.
According to Andre, executives at Netflix wanted to remove the joke given the climate after the death of George Floyd.
“I’m like, no, guys!” Andre said. “This is the best time to do these jokes. This is what we need! We need to point out the absurdity of the police department and what a f*****g hypocrisy and a disgrace it is. We need to point out police brutality. I am blessed that my stand-up special is coming out in this time.”
Legalize Everything also sees the comedian take aim at the long-running US series Copsfor using reggae music while showing footage of police officers beating up black people.
In the wake of Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality, Paramount Network decided to cancel Cops just before the 33rd season aired.
Speaking to The Daily Beast, Andre said he’s always been disgusted by how “Cops portrays cops as the good guys and poor people and Black people and marginalized people as the bad guys…[the officers] turn it up a notch for the camera.
“People have been shot unnecessarily and they’ve used excessive force to make good television,” Andre continued. “So I think the show Cops is pretty corrupt. They had a 32-season run. I think we’re fine. I think it’s time to f*****g hang up the jersey."
