Raphael Bob-Waksberg, the creator of the acclaimed adult comedy cartoon BoJack Horseman, which is now streaming on Netflix, took to social media to discuss the David Fincher joke cut from the show.
Netflix had decided to cut it as they did not want to offend an auteur of Fincher’s stature known for his terrific filmmaking prowess, displayed in films like Fight Club, Mank and more. Fincher and Netflix go way back, having produced House of Cards and Mindhunter.
BoJack Horseman is a personal favourite. After all, who would not want to dive into their plethora of insecurities and bask in the utter disillusionment and hopelessness of life by listening to a cynical, depressed, self-loathing anthropomorphic horse rant about his tragicomic existence?
Steeped in existential dread, nihilism and philosophical conversations, the vivid imagery brilliantly portrays alcoholism, depression, substance abuse, childhood trauma, relationships and life itself in a heartbreakingly beautiful and poignant manner. It is an audio-visual piece of poetry with well-rounded characters and profound dialogues that do not lose the touch of humour at the height of seriousness.
The show sees the eponymous BoJack Horseman making a variety of inappropriate jokes with plenty of dark humour — a pivotal part of the show. However, one such joke about Fincher was removed, according to Bob-Waksberg’s Twitter post.
Bob-Waksberg referenced the recent Dave Chappelle controversy with this latest special, The Closer, that has landed the comedian and Netflix in hot water with the trans community and their allies who have not taken kindly to his ignorant and hurtful “jokes” that are tantamount to transphobia.
The creator asked if it was normal for comedians to say whatever they wanted to say, unfiltered, while the streaming service made him change a joke to not get on the filmmaker’s bad side.
Apparently, he even looked up the joke that had been cut. He continued, “Turns out it was a whole scene! Netflix was right to note, it’s a dumb scene. My point was it’s silly for a network to pretend their hands are tied when it comes to the content they put on their network.”
He basically called out Netflix and their CEO Ted Sarandos for pretending that they had nothing to do with the content when they were basically the ones orchestrating the whole endeavour.
The scene in question sees Amy Sedaris’ Princess Caolryn meeting Fincher at a baby shower, where the latter addresses her by saying, “What’s up, slut?”
Carolyn retorts with a “skinny bitch” comment that builds up to a punchline referring to Fincher’s iconic “what’s in the box” scene from one of his most popular flicks, Seven.
It was meant to be included in the seventh episode of season one, which saw the whole creative team, according to Bob-Waksberg, trying to figure out “some kinks as far as tone and process.”
You can now stream all the seasons of BoJack Horseman on Netflix.
Read the tweets where Bob-Waksberg claps back, below: