The Netflix series “Emily in Paris” quickly became a viewer favorite when the first season was broadcast on the streaming service back in 2020.
However, not everyone is equally excited about the series. Now the Minister of Culture of Ukraine, Oleksandr Tkachenko, is cracking down on it and calling it insulting to the Ukrainian people.
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Reacts strongly
According to, among others, the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet he must have been furious at the way the character “Petra” is portrayed in the second season which recently premiered.
– In “Emily in Paris” there is a caricature of a Ukrainian woman that is unacceptable. It is also offensive, he writes on the messaging service Telegram according to BBC.
Races against the family
Insider has also mentioned the case, and reports that many Ukrainians have reacted strongly to the portrayal of the character.
In the new season, “Petra” is a woman from Kiev who goes on the same French course as the main role Emily. Ukrainian Daria Panchenko plays the role, and at one point in the series she tricks Emily into stealing clothes from a store.
Plaintiff Netflix
– That’s not how it should be
There is a clearly upset Tkachenko who does not understand why the character has been portrayed in that way.
“Is that how Ukrainians are perceived abroad,” he says The Guardian, and adds:
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“In the 1990s and 2000s, Ukrainian boys were mainly portrayed as gangsters. Over time, this has changed. But not in this case ».
Tkachenko is said to have submitted a complaint to Netflix, to which the streaming giant is said to have responded “quite diplomatically”.
Strikes back after storm of criticism
– They thanked me for the feedback. They were made aware that Ukrainian viewers were concerned about the way the image of a Ukrainian woman was portrayed. We agreed that we will keep in close contact in 2022 to prevent something like this from happening again, he says.
Netflix has not issued an official statement regarding the complaints.
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