US mums’ group wants Disney boycott over gay storyline
By Nick Levine
A US parents’ group has launched a campaign to compel advertisers to boycott the Disney Channel over its recent “gay moms” storyline.
On an episode of Disney Channel sitcom Good Luck Charlie that premiered in the US last Sunday (January 26), the network introduced a lesbian couple called Amy and Cheryl (pictured right) – the first gay characters in the Disney Channel’s 31-year history. Amy and Cheryl appeared as one-time guest stars and are unlikely to feature in the sitcom again.
Before the episode aired, One Million Moms, an organisation that purports to stand for “traditional and Christian values”, posted a statement on its website voicing strong opposition to the storyline. “One episode is enough, especially since the network repeatedly airs reruns of all its programs,” the statement says, before adding: “Disney has decided to be politically correct instead of providing family-friendly programming. Disney should stick to entertaining, not pushing an agenda.”
The statement then continues: “Conservative families need to urge Disney to avoid controversial topics that children are far too young to comprehend. This is the last place a parent would expect their children to be confronted with topics that are too difficult for them to understand. Mature issues of this nature are being introduced too early and too soon, and it is extremely unnecessary.”
At the end of the statement, readers are advised to “take action” by emailing Care.com, a US childcare service that advertises on the Disney Channel, to urge them “to stop sponsoring the Disney Channel if it pushes the LGBT agenda on our children during the program Good Luck Charlie”.
> Disney Channel introduces first gay characters in its 31-year history