The Minister of Culture of Ukraine Oleksandr Tkachenko sent a letter to the streaming service Netflix, outraged by the «offensive» image of a Ukrainian woman in the series «Emily in Paris». He announced this in his telegram channel.
Screenshot: Netflix
“In Emily in Paris we have a caricature of a Ukrainian woman, which is unacceptable. On the other hand, [he] is also offensive.
This is how Ukrainians abroad will be seen? & nbsp; Who steal, want to receive everything for free, are afraid of deportation? & nbsp; This should not be so, «the minister wrote.
Netflix representatives told Tkachenko that they had heard “about the concern of Ukrainian viewers with the image of a Ukrainian woman,” and thanked him for the feedback. Also, according to the minister, they agreed to be «in closer contact in 2022 to prevent such cases.»
A Ukrainian woman named Petra (played by actress Daria Panchenko) appeared in the second season of the series Emily in Paris, released on December 22. She speaks French with an accent, sometimes switching to Ukrainian, steals things from expensive stores and worries about possible deportation. She has blonde hair and bright makeup.
Many Ukrainian women, offended by the image of Petra in the series, spoke out on social networks. Thus, Ukrainian blogger Yevgenia Gavrilko stressed that the streaming service showed the Ukrainian woman “as a person without taste and self-esteem. Foolish, ignorant thief. Are you seriously? Such a shame, ”she wrote on Instagram.
“The scene [of the theft from the store] itself is a painful attack: we see a very correct Emily and a stupid girl from Ukraine who shouts that she will be deported. This is xenophobia, emphasizing a person's nationality in a negative context, ”writer Irena Karpa said in a commentary to Wonderzine.
In addition, Facebook users left more than a hundred negative comments under the publication on the Netflix page in Ukraine. After the discussion of the series on social networks flared up, actress Daria Panchenko deleted her Instagram account.