Emily in Paris slammed by Ukraine's culture minister over "offensive" character
4 January 2022, 11:27
Lily Collins reacts to someone defacing an Emily in Paris poster
Petra in Emily in Paris is coming under fire for being an "unacceptable" stereotype.
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Emily in Paris is facing widespread backlash over its depiction of a Ukrainian person in season 2 of the popular Netflix show.
Last month (Dec 22), Emily in Paris season 2 dropped on Netflix and the series immediately soared to the top of Netflix's Top 10 charts all around the world. However, in spite of how successful the show is, it has faced serious criticism since season 1 came out in 2020. French critics even called out the show for being "offensive" and "embarrassing" to French people.
Now, Ukrainian culture minister Oleksandr Tkachenko has issued a complaint regarding the character of Petra in season 2.
READ MORE: Emily in Paris season 3: Release date, cast, spoilers and news about the Netflix show
In Emily in Paris season 2, Emily befriends a Ukrainian girl named Petra in French class. However, the pair soon fallout when they go shopping together and Petra shoplifts expensive designer clothes. Viewers of the show were quick to call out Emily in Paris for playing into offensive stereotypes of Ukrainian people and now Oleksandr Tkachenko has joined them.
Oleksandr took to Telegram to slam the show for its depiction of Petra. He stated: "In Emily in Paris, we have a caricature of a Ukrainian woman that is unacceptable. It is also insulting. Is this how Ukrainians will be seen abroad? Who steal, want to get everything for free, be afraid of deportation? This should not be so."
Watch the Emily in Paris season 2 trailer
Oleksandr also sent a formal complaint to Netflix and, according to The Mirror, he said that their response was “quite diplomatic". He added: "We agreed that in 2022, we will be in close contact to prevent such cases".
