Kenya bans Disney Channel TV show Andi Mack over gay character
Kenya's Film Classification Board have banned the programme
By Ross Semple
Kenya has banned Disney Channel TV show Andi Mack over its gay character.
The season two premier of the children’s television show featured 13-year-old Cyrus coming out to his friend Buffy after realising his feelings for a boy named Jonah.
The episode is part of an LGBT storyline in which Cyrus, played by Joshua Rush, comes to terms with his sexuality and wrestles with how to tell his girlfriend, Iris.
While many have praised the storyline, Kenya’s Film Classification Board banned the programme on Monday (October 30), Variety reports.
Ezekiel Mutua, the CEO of the FCB, took to Twitter to reveal the news and condemned the show in a series of tweets in which he stated: “Gay content will not air in Kenya… Period!”
Gay Content Will Not Air in Kenya. . .PERIOD! https://t.co/a51WWTTsKo @InfoKfcb #KFCB
— Dr. Ezekiel Mutua (@EzekielMutua) October 31, 2017
Another tweet read: “When it comes to protecting children from exposure to bad content we are resolute and unapologetic.”
When it comes to protecting children from exposure to bad content we are resolute and unapologetic
#KFCB https://t.co/XtRXcQcmkn — Dr. Ezekiel Mutua (@EzekielMutua) October 31, 2017
His final tweet read: “Family is the basic unit of society and it’s derived from a union between a man and a woman.”
Family is the basic unit of society and it’s derived from a union between a man and a woman. #KFCB https://t.co/a51WWTTsKo
— Dr. Ezekiel Mutua (@EzekielMutua) October 31, 2017
Mutua wasn’t the only one to express outrage over the TV show, as One Million Moms launched a Disney Channel boycott over the gay storyline.