During a recent appearance on Club Random with Bill Maher, comedian and actor David Cross revisited a controversial moment from the Netflix reboot of Mr. Show with Bob and David, revealing that the platform removed not just a sketch, but the entire episode it appeared in.
The discussion began when Bill Maher brought up the topic of progressive figures who had previously engaged in blackface as part of satirical commentary, arguing that such performances were often meant to critique racism rather than endorse it. That prompted Cross to share a firsthand example from his own work.
“I say this as someone who literally did a sketch on the rebooted Mr. Show with Bob and David for Netflix,” Cross said.
He then walked Maher through the premise of the sketch, explaining the satirical angle behind it. “We did a sketch where my character gets in blackface, and it was inspired by those videos people started making of like, ‘I’m a sovereign citizen and I’m going to test this thing out with the police,’” he said. “They would go film themselves and hassle a cop or do something st*pid.”
Cross emphasized that the humor and critique were rooted in portraying his character as foolish. “In the sketch, I play this i*iot character who’s trying to call it ‘know your rights,’” he explained. “He’s one of these guys like, okay, they put up a sign that says you can’t do this, but I’m a sovereign citizen and I have every right, and I’m going to show you your rights.”
He went on to describe how the situation escalates. “Keegan-Michael Key plays a cop, and I’m trying to get him to arrest me or whatever,” Cross said. “And everything I do, he’s just like, ‘That’s cool, just take your time, go and do better next time.’”
As the sketch progresses, Cross’s character pushes things further in an attempt to provoke a reaction. “And I keep upping the bar, so then I put blackface on, drive around,” he said. “And I’m the i*iot. The character is the i*iot for doing this.”
He concluded by describing how the sketch delivers its message. “And then Jay Johnston, playing a white cop, comes out and just pepper-sprays me and beats the s**t out of me,” Cross said. “And the point is made in several ways.”
Despite the satirical framing, Cross said Netflix responded by removing the content entirely. “Netflix didn’t just take that sketch out, they took the entire episode off the air,” he said.
