Two Moms Cause One Million Moms To Boycott Disney Channel
On June 20, when TV Guide reported that the final season of the popular Disney Channel series "Good Luck Charlie" will include an episode featuring a family with two mommies, it seemed logical that a protest from One Million Moms was imminent. In a move that can only be explained as being "fashionably late" (after over a week's worth of uncharacteristic but welcome silence), the Moms are back with their second boycott in one month against the Walt Disney Company.
Shortly after news broke of the planned same-sex parents episode, message boards and blog posts were ablaze with speculation as to how quickly the anti-gay family values group would respond with the inevitable announcement of a boycott.
On June 21, Queerty.com wrote
"And the countdown to the "One Million Moms" boycott begins...NOW."
That comment was echoed on parenting advice forum, cafemom.com
"I am counting the hours before One Million Moms puts out a statement and a request for all supporters to boycott Disney or demands Disney Channel cancel the show before it airs."
On June 22, a post on popular international theater website BroadwayWorld.com, offered the stage direction-
"Cue One Million Moms!"
As if to spite their critics for predicting their predictable response, One Million Moms maintained an eerie silence on this issue for over a week. Could it be possible that they changed their opinions of same-sex parenting? Given their reputation for quality family programming, would Disney get a free pass?
One thing about those moms, they may sometimes be late, but they never disappoint. On June 28, perhaps as a counter-celebration of Gay Pride Weekend, those one million recent dowagers of the Defense of Marriage Act, (whose numbers as of this writing are actually 57,789), issued the following statement on their website
"Alerting all parents! In a first for the Disney Channel, an episode in the next season of "Good Luck Charlie" will feature a family with two moms. The episode will air in early 2014 as part of "Good Luck Charlie's" final season. Because 'Good Luck Charlie' is coming to a close, the characters are only expected to appear in one episode. However, one episode is bad enough, and the network repeatedly airs previews in commercials leading up to new episodes and also replays episodes in reruns."
The Moms continued with sharp criticism against the media giant.
"Disney should stick to entertaining instead of pushing an agenda. Disney decided to be politically correct versus providing family-friendly programming. Disney has a choice whether to produce a program with certain fictional characters; the storyline could be re-written or changed. Conservative families need to urge Disney to exclude confusing topics that children are far too young to comprehend."
The boycott over the "Good Luck Charlie" episode marks the second time in one month that the anti-gay Christian media watchdog group has taken on Mickey Mouse. On May 9, EDGE reported that OMM had launched a boycott against Disney's theme park division for not barring participants of the unofficial Gay Days weekend from entering the company's flagship destination in Orlando, Fla. That action is referenced in OMM's latest call to arms.
"Disney claims it is not responsible for Gay Days held at the Magic Kingdom because it is out of its hands, but Disney cannot hide behind that excuse any longer and pretend it is not pushing an agenda. One Million Moms will hold Disney accountable for the content produced and marketed directly to young viewers over the Disney Channel Network, which they have complete control over."
As reported on TVGuide.com, the episode will air in early 2014 as part of "Good Luck Charlie's" final season. Because "Good Luck Charlie" is coming to a close, the characters are only expected to appear in this one episode.
In the storyline, parents Amy and Bob Duncan (Leigh-Allyn Baker and Eric Allan Kramer) set up a playdate for preschooler Charlie (Mia Talerico) and one of her new friends. When the kid arrives, the Duncans learn that Charlie's pal has two moms.
The playdate is actually the secondary story in the episode, as much of the action will center on Teddy (Bridgit Mendler) and her best friend Ivy, as Ivy prepares to head off to college.
According to Wikipedia, Good Luck Charlie, which premiered in 2010 on Disney Channel, was created by Phil Baker and Drew Vaupen, who wanted to create a program that would appeal to entire families, as opposed to only children. It focuses on a Denver family, the Duncans, as they try to adjust to the births of their fourth and fifth children. It is a two-time winner of both the Young Artist Award and British Academy Children's Award.
The Disney Channel joins the ranks of Kraft, Phillips Norelco, the Walt Disney Company (DisneyWorld), J.C. Penney, NBC, ABC, Jennifer Lopez and SheZow on the ever-growing One Million Moms boycott list.