CAPTAIN DURAG CREATOR RESPONDED TO DISNEY JR. BACKLASH
Captain Durag backlash hit Disney Jr. fast, but the comedian who created him said she only wanted Black culture to have its own superhero.
Camille Corbett, 28, a Los Angeles-based comedian and writer on “Hey A.J.!”, answered the criticism in an interview USA TODAY published on February 19, 2026.
Corbett had already weighed in on X on February 16, 2026, after learning some viewers found the character problematic.
“I created the character Durag Man, now known as Captain Durag on the Disney Show, Hey AJ and I’m just finding out people are finding it problematic? I just wanted our culture to have a superhero of its own!”
Who Captain Durag is
“Hey A.J.!” premiered on Disney Jr. in January 2026. It follows A.J. on adventures with her best friend and toy bunny, Theo.
A.J. is a fan of Captain Durag, a superhero whose long durag covers his eyes and trails down his back like a cape. He also wears purple boots, gloves and a vest.
The character lives in the fictional Slime City, where he fights grime. His nemesis is a dumpster.
In episode 8, he calls himself a “grim fighter” and tells A.J., “Cleanliness begins at home.” The scene has her getting ready to clean her messy room, which he calls their headquarters.
The backlash and the response
A TikToker identified as @elijxhvega slammed the character’s “durag-tied mask and cape that serves zero purpose.” The TikToker also called him a “glorified trash man.”
Other social media users said the character played into stereotypes of Black people and questioned the lack of variety in Black superheroes.
One X user landed somewhere in the middle. “It was either a super Black idea or a VERY bad stereotype and the internet couldn’t determine which cause it was too close on the line,” the user wrote. “And I couldn’t be happier someone Black was behind this.”
Martellus Bennett, a former NFL player whose books inspired the show, illustrated Captain Durag. He called the criticism “selective outrage” in an Instagram post and said Black art is policed in unacceptable ways.
Bennett also wrote about what a durag meant to him as a kid. “When I tied it up and that tail started flapping behind me as I ran through the house, nobody could stop me,” he wrote. “That was my armor, my power source, my transformation sequence.”
Corbett told USA TODAY the character began as an idea in the writers’ room. She said he was inspired by Blaxploitation films, a genre she has loved since childhood.
She said Captain Durag was also meant to poke fun at respectability politics. She tied that to growing up in suburban Atlanta and feeling embarrassed to wear a bonnet outside, something she later did while studying at the University of Alabama on a full-ride scholarship.
In TikTok videos about the backlash, Corbett urged people to “release ourselves from the shackles of respectability politics.”
She also said she has been harassed over the character, including by social media users questioning her Blackness.
“I respect every culture. I respect Black culture,” Corbett told USA TODAY. “Most importantly, I consider myself a Black artist. I identify as a Black artist.”
She added: “We should have joy at every level.”
Corbett gave a shorter answer to the New York Post. “Watch the show,” she said, adding, “As a scholar, I would never comment on something I haven’t experienced myself.”
Disney told USA TODAY that the show’s creative team worked with cultural consultant group The League throughout production.
