Pippi Longstocking Is On Front Line of Political-Correctness Battle in Sweden

A Pippi Longstocking movie poster from 1969. Everett Collection
Swedish Television has cut out potentially offensive scenes from fresh editions of the popular 1969 Pippi Longstocking series, sparking intense debate on social media over the extent to which old productions should be modified to suit what is considered socially acceptable today.

In the fresh versions, set to be aired on a children’s channel in December, the unconventional Pippi will describe her dad as a “king” instead of a “negro king” and won’t play “Chinese” by stretching out the skin around her eyes.

The public broadcaster said those original scenes could be perceived as “hurtful or offensive” for children who watched it. The television series is based on the Pippi books by Sweden’s best-known and most beloved children’s author Astrid Lindgren, whose work is read in practically every Swedish family’s home.

“We live in a multicultural society with children from many different countries,” Paulette Rosas Hott, head of programming and licensing sales at Swedish Television, said. “Those kids should feel comfortable when they’re looking at this. And the parents should feel comfortable that their kids don’t learn expressions that they don’t support.”

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