Breanna Robinson
Apr 11, 2022
Video
People on social media are calling a series where participants swap races using make-up the “worst reality TV show ever.”
Titled Black.White., the series was produced by rapper Ice Cube and aired on FX for a brief period of time in 2006. But even that was too long, in our opinion.
The series was propelled back into the spotlight recently after someone on Twitter shared a clip they stumbled across.
“Accidentally came across the worst reality show to ever be conceived,” they captioned the post.
In a similar instance to the more successful series Wife Swap and under the guise of racial tolerance, the series featured two families, one Black and one White, who set out to experience how each other lives.
Accidentally came across the worst reality show to ever be conceived pic.twitter.com/uXyr8syXkZ— masc potatoes (@masc potatoes) 1649534396
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However, instead of swapping houses and spouses, Black.White. saw the families living under the same roof while “swapping” races.
Within the clip shared online, the Sparks, who are a Black family, were made up to look white, while a white family, the Wurgels, were put in Black makeup and wigs in an attempt to live a life that mirrored their fellow participants.
At that time, The Guardian wrote a story that described how Ms Wurgel's boyfriend, Bruno Marcotulli looked “forward” to having someone use that term towards him.
"I look forward to having someone say, 'Hey, n*****,' you know, 'You're a son of a b***h,’” he reportedly said.
After wearing Black make-up for a few days, Marcotulli is said to have told Mr Sparks, who is Black, that his issues with race were in his mind and said: "I'm trying to enlighten you to the fact that you've got to approach life in a certain way and not expect you're being mistreated because you're Black."
Naturally, after the clip made its way back onto the internet, people were quick to slam it.
One wrote: "What in the world was ice cube thinking holy s**t."
"This [poop emoji] actually aired," another added.
A third person who cited that the show one an Emmy in 2006 for Outstanding Makeup for a Series (Non-Prosthetic) wrote: "Apparently, if you do blackface well enough, you can win an Emmy…"
Apparently, if you do blackface well enough, you can win an Emmy\u2026pic.twitter.com/dhYWPq01rs— Andy Grewal (@Andy Grewal) 1649554760
Check out other reactions below:
I\u2019m on the FLOOR hdjdbbdns. How was this green lit?pic.twitter.com/rGM7RanX75— BonesTheProd (@BonesTheProd) 1649546625
I\u2019m crying genuine tearspic.twitter.com/qhFp5iQCXQ— KIIKO (@KIIKO) 1649561220
I\u2026pic.twitter.com/owgsU9lRMY— \ud835\uddd7\ud835\udde2\ud835\udde3\ud835\uddd4\ud835\udde0\ud835\udddc\ud835\udde1\ud835\uddd8 (@\ud835\uddd7\ud835\udde2\ud835\udde3\ud835\uddd4\ud835\udde0\ud835\udddc\ud835\udde1\ud835\uddd8) 1649536056
pic.twitter.com/MuuvnZdRUg— Fineapple_Skies (@Fineapple_Skies) 1649548175
Elsewhere, The Guardian reported that the producers of the series at the time made efforts to ensure viewers would not be offended by the show, including putting on a special screening for the NAACP.
Oprah Winfrey was also reportedly a fan of the show and invited the people involved onto her show to detail their experiences.
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