"Gone With The Wind" Swept Off HBO Max

Listen to Geraldo In Cleveland, Weekdays 9-10 am on Newsradio WTAM 1100, also available on 106.9 FM and the Free iheartradio app.

"Gone With The Wind" is no longer available on HBO Max, at least temporarily.

HBO pulled the film from its streaming service's library amid mass protests across the United States following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was murdered while in police custody.

The 1939 film, which tells the tale of Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler during the American Civil War, is considered by many to be one of the greatest movies ever made and is one of the most popular films of all time. However, the movie is also incredibly controversial. The film's portrayal of slavery, African Americans and the Civil War South has been received much more critically in the decades since its release.

A spokesperson for HBO Max, told CNN Business 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."

"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 said.

The spokesperson also said the film will eventually be re added "with a discussion of its historical context and a denouncement of those very depictions," and will be presented "as it was originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed."

Listen to Geraldo’s “Roadkill” Podcast on wtam.com and the iheartradio app.

Follow Geraldo on Twitter @GeraldoRivera


Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content