‘Emily in Paris’ under fire over ‘offensive’ Ukrainian character

Ukraine’s culture minister calls the character of Petra ‘insulting’, issues complaint to Netflix

Lily Collin’s hit Netflix show Emily in Paris has garnered quite a reputation over the show’s issues relating to inaccurate representation of cultures outside of the United States. In the latest season, a Ukrainian character, Petra, who has poor taste in fashion and perpetual fear of deportation, shoplifts while on a trip with the show’s lead. Taking offence over the depiction, the Ukrainian culture minister Oleksandr Tkachenko deemed the character “insulting”.

Tkachenko wrote in a statement on Telegram, “We have a caricature image of a Ukrainian woman that is unacceptable. It is also insulting. Is that how Ukrainians are seen abroad?”

Ukrainian media confirmed that the minister has filed an official complaint against the character, played by actor Daria Panchenko, in a letter to Netflix.   

Emily in Paris, which follows the adventures of an American woman who moves to France for work, came under fire after its premiere for its stereotypical representation of other cultures. Earlier, in an interview with Elle, Collins shared that the backlash over season one had led to major changes in the show. “For me as Emily, but also as a producer, after season one, hearing people’s thoughts, concerns, questions, likes, dislikes, just feelings about it, there were certain things that spoke to the time that we’re living in and what is right, moral and correct and should be done. I wanted diversity and inclusion in front of and behind the camera to be something that we really put our focus on,” explained the actor.