Alabama Public Television refuses to air Arthur episode featuring gay wedding
Alabama be Alabama.
After stripping women the right of control over their own bodies, Alabama is now waging a war against the PBS animated children’s series Arthur.
On its Season 22 premiere, Arthur and his friends attend the wedding of their third grade teacher, Mr. Ratburn, who marries his husband, Patrick. The episode has been universally praised and heralded as a cultural touchstone for children’s television.
Unfortunately, Alabama Public Television has decided against airing the episode, believing it would be “a violation of trust,” according to NBC News.
“Parents have trusted Alabama Public Television for more than 50 years to provide children’s programs that entertain, educate and inspire,” Mike McKenzie, APT’s director of programming, said in a statement. “More importantly – although we strongly encourage parents to watch television with their children and talk about what they have learned afterwards – parents trust that their children can watch APT without their supervision. We also know that children who are younger than the ‘target’ audience for Arthur also watch the program.”
Alabama Public Television previously blocked a 2005 episode of Arthur in which Buster goes on a playdate with a young girl who has two mothers. Sadly, it seems not much has changed in the 14 years since then.
