Four episodes from the Bravo series Southern Charm were removed from its video-on-demand service due to racially insensitive scenes with Kathryn Dennis and former cast member Thomas Ravenel. The episodes aired between 2014 and 2016 and came to light when a TikTok user, who goes by the handle @thetalkofshame, made a video calling out Bravo for airing the episodes.

The episodes in question feature Dennis and Ravenel showing off their respective family plantations. Another episode shows Ravenel and his dad laughing because of the senior Ravenel’s dislike of President Abraham Lincoln. After the video when viral, Bravo went into damage-control mode and pulled the episodes for potentially insensitive material. Three of the episodes are now back on its VOD service.

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According to Daily Mail, Ravenel’s racially charged moment first happened in 2014’s season one, episode two. The episode showed Ravenel dining with his father, former U. S. Congressman, Arthur Ravenel Jr. At the end of the meal, Ravenel suggested a $5 tip for the waitress. The elder Ravenel said he didn’t care for the bill’s denomination because it featured President Abraham Lincoln’s face. As Ravenel Jr. produced a $5 bill from his wallet, he smirked at the camera. In 1862, President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which effectively freed the slaves. Earlier in the episode, the senior Ravenel seemingly used mentally challenged people as a slur to slight the NAACP by referring to the civil rights organization as the National Association of Retarded People. He then apologized to the mentally disabled for comparing them to the NAACP. Another episode showed Ravenel visiting his father’s downtown Charleston office. Pictured in the office was a Museum of the Confederacy magnet on his dad’s Rolodex and a large painting of Robert E. Lee, the former Confederate general, on a wall.

A promo image of Thomas Ravenel on Southern Charm

Dennis’ offense occurs in season three, episode one. During a scene with co-star K. Cooper Ray, he comments on the beauty of her plantation, which in its heyday grew tobacco, cotton, and rice. Dennis, who has two children with Ravenel, and Ray toured the 800-acre plantation. During the tour, she pointed out the property’s slave cemetery. Dennis, a descendent of former United States Vice President John C. Calhoun, was a staunch states’ rights proponent and advocate for slavery.

In this heightened sense of social justice now enveloping in the country, media entities are becoming hyper-vigilant about the content they produce and changing behaviors once considered standard. Bravo’s quick attention to being called out and its rapid response to review potentially offensive content that conflicts with its corporate values is to be commended. However, their decision to put three of the episode back up and their lack of a formal statement has fans questioning their motives.

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Source: Daily Mail