HBO MAX ends access to 'Gone with the Wind," TV shop 'Cops' cancelled, following George Floyd death

HBO Max has pulled the American film classic “Gone with the Wind” from its digital streaming menu, and the popular, long-running TV show “Cops” has been cancelled, amid the George Floyd protests that has resulted in the entertainment industry and much of the rest of America taking a closer look at possible racial and cultural biases. 

The 1939 movie, which one eight Academy Awards, depicts the Civil War era and life on a southern plantation.

HBO Max said the film is a “product of its time and depicts some of the ethnic and racial prejudices that have, unfortunately, been commonplace in American society.” 

The company made the statement about two weeks after Floyd, who was black, died after a white Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck during an arrest, sparking days of protests across the country.

HBO Max suggested the movie would eventually return for viewing but “with a discussion of its historical context and a denouncement of those very depictions, but will be presented as it was originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed. If we are to create a more just, equitable and inclusive future, we must first acknowledge and understand our history.”

The Paramount Network on Tuesday cancelled “Cops,” a documentary-style show that follows officers as they respond to calls for assistance.  

The network, a division of ViacomCBS Inc., said the show is not returning and “we don’t have any current or future plans for it to return,” according to The Wall Street Journal.