“Unacceptable and offensive”
Ukrainian minister complains to Netflix about “Emily in Paris”
Lily Collins as Emily with Daria Panchenko as Petra in a scene from the second season of “Emily in Paris”
© Netflix
Because the Netflix series “Emily in Paris” portrays a Ukrainian as a kleptomaniac, among other things, a Ukrainian minister has complained to the streaming service. The show is considered extremely stereotypical.
Success for the second season of “Emily in Paris”: The series about the American Emily, who moves to Paris and suffers a culture shock there, is currently among the top ten most watched Netflix shows worldwide. And that, although many consider it a so-called “hate watch”: The show is watched to get excited about it. Even politicians have now got excited.
Oleksandr Tkachenko, Minister of Culture of Ukraine, has officially complained to Netflix about a stereotypical representation. Because in one episode Emily, played by Lily Collins, meets the Ukrainian Petra, played by Daria Panchenko. But she quickly turns out to be a kleptomaniac, Emily has to get rid of her new girlfriend. That causes resentment at Tkachenko. “We have a cartoon of a Ukrainian woman that is unacceptable. It is also very insulting,” the politician grumbled. “Should this be how Ukrainians are seen abroad? As people who steal, who want everything for free and are afraid of deportation? That shouldn’t be the case,” Tkachenko is quoted as saying.
“Emily in Paris” is brimming with clichés
It’s not the first time that “Emily in Paris” has received criticism for exaggerating stereotypes. The series is considered to be very stereotypical and repeatedly manifests prejudices about France and the USA. In an interview recently, lead actress and producer Lily Collins said that she wanted to make the second season more diverse and inclusive. There would have been certain aspects of the criticism that said something about the present day and about what is right, moral and correct, and what needs to be done. “I wanted to focus on diversity and inclusion in front of and behind the camera,” said Collins.
Netflix reacted diplomatically to the renewed criticism, said Tkachenko. “You thanked me for the feedback,” said the minister. They want to stay in close contact in 2022 in order to prevent such cases in the future.