iTunes Warns of 'Racial Prejudices' in 'Tom & Jerry' Cartoons

If you're of a certain age, you probably remember watching "Looney Tunes" and "Tom and Jerry" on TV. Not the sleek, modern updates, mind you; the original cartoons from the 1940's and 1950's.

Those cartoons are now available on iTunes, but Apple has felt the need to give a little bit of introduction to the shows...namely, they want to warn users about the racism prevalent in the cartoons.

"These animated shorts are products of their time. Some of them may depict some of the ethnic and racial prejudices that were commonplace in American society," reads the "Tom and Jerry" iTunes page. "These depictions were wrong then and are wrong today."

The same disclaimer has been inserted in the form of a title card on some DVDs of Looney Tunes and other Warner Bros. cartoons from the era.

The disclaimer goes on to defend keeping the offending cartoons in the collections. "While the following does not represent the Warner Bros. view of today's society, these animated shorts are being presented as they were originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed."

It's an admirable move from Warner Bros., especially in a world where Disney practically erased "Song of the South" from their history.

It's also a position backed by Whoopi Goldberg who reads off the disclaimer herself in some of the "Tom and Jerry" DVDs.