Muppet Babies makes a change to Gonzo

[Kevin M.]

Although Henson et al have repeatedly rejected the notion that Bert and Ernie are gay, essentially stating that Muppets are Muppets, and thus are not sexual in any way, Baby Gonzo  (recognized as a boy in the series) gets to wear a dress and teach the other Muppet Babies that it isn’t nice to tease others based on the clothing they wear.

https://www.out.com/television/2021/7/26/muppet-babies-just-celebrated-gender-variant-kids-best-way

Right wing media is gonna lose their sh*t over this. For me personally, I’ve never liked the Muppet Babies, and really didn’t like the reboot, so I don’t know how many social issues it tackles. This specific issue is of great importance to a certain percentage of the population, and it is sure to generate words from both sides of the issue. 

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Kevin M. (RPCV)

[David Bruggeman]

It dropped on Friday on Disney Jr., so it might take a while to hit the outrage circuit.

A quick scan of the episode guide on Wikipedia suggests the show usually doesn't get into the social commentary, focusing more on stuff most little ones deal with at some point (being a sore loser, getting a new sibling, etc.)

David

[Tom Wolper]

Disney isn't going to make a decision to do something like this without getting advice from stakeholder groups (parents, teachers, pediatricians) and going to Legal and PR departments to anticipate the backlash. Right Wing Media manufacture outrage, that's what they do. But the audience is always becoming more fractured and the demographic of white evangelicals has gotten much smaller and older in the last few decades and they just don't have the leverage they did 20 years ago.

[M-D November]

I also don't think this is that much of a change to Gonzo's core personality.  After all, this is the Muppet (from space, if we take that film as canon) who has a long-standing romantic relationship with a chicken. I'm sure there have been times when adult Gonzo made a comment or two about the attractiveness of a female, but for TODDLER Gonzo? Feels in-character to me.  (Disclosure: my kids are obsessed with the reboot Muppet Babies.)

[Kevin M.]

And the manufactured outrage has commenced 

https://twitter.com/realcandaceo/status/1422003839805296641?s=21

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Kevin M. (RPCV)

[Tom Wolper]

On Tue, Aug 3, 2021 at 1:33 AM Kevin M. <drunkba...@gmail.com> wrote:

And the manufactured outrage has commenced 

https://twitter.com/realcandaceo/status/1422003839805296641?s=21

I just want to note that this was two weeks ago and it doesn't seem to have caught fire. Maybe the right wing outrage machine needed content in the spring when they jumped on Mr Potato Head and now there are other things to be outraged about. Or maybe it's just not getting any traction with young parents.