Back in a time that seems like ages ago, Tina Fey's star vehicle series 30 Rock was all the rage over at NBC. Even after it ended its initial run in prime time, the show is still very popular in syndication, as well as with fans who enjoy revisiting their favorite moments via streaming outlets. However, in the series' big move from Netflix over to Hulu at the beginning of the month, fans spotted a peculiar absence from an episode that aired in Season 3 - Chris Brown's name and a rendition from one of his songs has been cut from the original footage.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, part of 30 Rock's history is now without Breezy, as his name has been stricken from the Episode 13 of Season 3, which is titled "Goodbye, My Friend." The original cut has Tina Fey's Liz Lemon finds herself in a 24-hour doughnut shop where she strikes up a conversation with Becca, a pregnant counter clerk who is played by Phoebe Strole. Becca complains to Lemon that the people she's met during the adoption process are out of touch because they "don't even know who Chris Brown is." To prove to Becca that she's not one of those out-of-touch people, Lemon is supposed to sing a bit of Brown's hit song "With You." However, this is no longer the case.
THR has confirmed that the Emmy-winning NBC comedy no longer mentions Brown now that it was moved to Hulu, with Lemon's choice of artist being Ne-Yo instead. Apparently, the footage shows that the line has clearly been re-dubbed and the cuts moved around to accommodate this change. When the shot cuts back to Lemon, only the muffled singing part of her song rendition is shown and it's not inherently clear what song she's meant to be singing. The odd part is that there seems to be no real reasoning behind the decision, with Hulu, Fey and Strole refusing to return requests for comment. NBC has stayed silent on the issue so far as well.
Eagle-eyed users on Reddit picked up on the edit too, speculating that it could be a leftover residual effect from his assault incident with Rihanna. The infamous event that marred Brown's reputation with the press took place in February of 2009, one month before the episode first aired.
