Anti-LGBTQ group call for ‘Arthur’ to be cancelled after featuring same-sex wedding
The long-running children's animated series saw Mr Ratburn marry his partner Patrick
By Steve Brown
Words: Steve Brown
An anti-LGBTQ group has called for children’s animation Arthur to be cancelled because it aired a same-sex wedding.
In the brand-new season, the PBS show saw the titular character and his friends attend the wedding of their teacher, Mr Ratburn.
In the episode, Arthur’s friends assume he is marrying a female rat called Patty – voice by Jane Lynch – however, they discover that the wedding is between two grooms as Patty turns out to be his sister.
We discover that his new husband is an aardvark named Patrick.
Despite the international praise, the anti-LGBTQ group ‘One Million Moms’ – an offshoot off the ultra-conservative American Family Association – have created a petition to have the show cancelled.
In a letter on the group’s website, they claimed they have received more than 18,000 signatures to cancel the programme altogether.
It reads: “Discussion of such controversial topics and lifestyle choices should be left up to parents.
“PBS Kids should not introduce this to young children. Just because an issue may be legal or because some are choosing a lifestyle doesn’t make it morally correct.
“PBS Kids should stick to entertaining and providing family-friendly programming, instead of pushing an agenda.”
In a statement, PBS have defended the wedding and said they need to ‘reflect the diversity of communities across the nation’.
“PBS Kids programs are designed to reflect the diversity of communities across the nation,” PBS said.
“We believe it is important to represent the wide array of adults in the lives of children who look to PBS Kids every day.”
Arthur is the longest-running children’s animated series in the US but despite its history, the episode was recently banned in Alabama.