Top 20 Shocking Kids Show Scandals
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 20 Shocking Kids Show Scandals. For this list, we’ll be looking at the craziest controversies surrounding shows aimed at children, whether they were warranted or not. Did we miss any scandalous moments? Let us know in the comments below!
#20: Peer Pressure & Drunk Driving
“Tiny Toon Adventures” (1990-92)
Even for cartoon characters, the dangers of underage drinking are far too real. And “Tiny Toon Adventures” didn’t shy away from any of it. It’s bad enough showing Buster, Plucky, and Hamton sipping on a beer. But it’s even worse seeing them get trashed, steal a cop car, and then drive into the aptly-named Death Mountain. Suffice it to say, it went a bit too far for a children's-oriented program. In the end, the only thing this PSA accomplished was getting the entire episode banned for over twenty years. Nowadays, the segment is readily accessible on streaming and DVD releases. That doesn’t make it any more appealing, though.
#19: Prejudice Against Tinky Winky
“Teletubbies” (1997-2001)
Certain groups out there will go to any lengths to prevent what they perceive as gay advocacy from appearing on television. Unfortunately, back in 1999, the Teletubbies came under their scope. Controversy arose when the conservative activist Jerry Falwell alleged that the purple character Tinky Winky was a covert gay role model. The reason for this is because, while the character is assumed to be male, he carries around what looks like a woman’s handbag. The BBC and the production company behind “Teletubbies” clarified that it was simply a “magic bag,” and Tinky Winky wasn’t gay or straight, simply a character in a children’s series.
#18: Bob the Builder Drops the F-Bomb?
Top 10 Shocking Kids Show Scandals
“Bob the Builder” (1998-2011)
You know whenever you think you hear something, but it sounds like something else? Well, that’s precisely what happened to this British, hard hat-wearing staple of children’s stop motion animation. During the Season 2 episode “Wallpaper Wendy,” Bob the Builder attempts to decorate the inside of a house to mixed results. During this segment, Bob mumbles as he struggles with the task. These mumbles resulted in some parents claiming to hear the frustrated builder swearing. While it was stated that this mumbling was simply being misinterpreted, the obscure lines were muted for later broadcasts.
#17: Kermit Gets Fired
“The Muppets” franchise (1955-)
Kermit, Miss Piggy, and the others are about as unproblematic as you can get. But, the puppeteers behind them are a different story. For 27 years, Steve Whitmire continued “The Muppets’” legacy as the performer of several iconic characters. Most famously, Kermit himself. However, parent company Disney alleged that many of those years were filled with outrageous demands and unacceptable workmanship. It reached a tipping point in late 2016 when Whitmire was terminated from “The Muppets” altogether. He didn’t go quietly, though. Whitmire vehemently refuted Disney’s story and claimed he was let go over union disagreements and other minor gripes. No matter which side is true, odds are Whitmire won’t be returning to Kermit any time soon.
#16: Scary Spiders
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“Peppa Pig” (2004-)
Like most kids her age, Peppa is frightened of arachnids. But, with some help from George, she ends the episode “Mister Skinnylegs” thinking they aren’t so bad. It’s a nice message and all; the issue is that some spiders are feared for very good reasons. For example, in Australia, where there’s a whole bunch of creepy crawlies carrying lethal venom. There, the episode drew significant controversy for minimizing the threat of spiders, especially among young, impressionable kids. Eventually, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation deemed the episode inappropriate and completely banned it from the country. Apparently, they agreed that spiders are to be feared, after all.
#15: Adoption Jokes
“You Can't Do That on Television” (1979-90)
Ironically, this show’s title is exactly what some viewers said about a few of its tasteless jokes. In the episode bluntly titled “Adoption,” several sketches made very questionable gags at the expense of orphans and foster care. In particular, one scene featured a politician adopting a kid, using him to do chores, and then trying to return him to the orphanage. Instead of playful, the whole thing came across as mean-spirited and out-of-touch. So, it’s no surprise that, reportedly, “Adoption” only aired twice before being yanked off American airwaves indefinitely. Years later, even one of the show’s creators admitted that these jokes crossed a line.
#14: Homophobia
“Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” (1993-95)
In most episodes, these spandex-clad heroes fought the bad guys, learned a lesson, and saved the day. However, behind the scenes, one of them was fighting a very different kind of battle. In the years since his departure from the series, original Blue Ranger David Yost has revealed that he faced intense homophobia on the set of the hit 90s program. Eventually, the constant ridicule forced Yost to exit the show without even filming a goodbye. Instead, “Power Rangers” used archival recordings and a ham-fisted aging plotline to write Billy out without his actor. Knowing all that Yost endured makes revisiting the franchise’s early days much more difficult.
#13: A Different Kind of Street
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“Sesame Street” (1969-)
On October 16th, 2011, Elmo and the others woke up to some very unwelcome guests in their neck of the woods. Someone had hacked “Sesame Street’s” official YouTube page and replaced the kid-friendly content with videos for a much, much older audience. And that’s putting it lightly. Before you ask, no, apparently none of them included “Sesame Street” characters. The only silver lining is that the lewd content was presumably only live for around twenty minutes. Afterward, the channel was taken down and later reverted back to the rightful owners. Thankfully, “Sesame Street’s” YouTube page has stayed safe for all ages ever since.
#12: LGBTQ+ Content
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“Arthur” franchise (1996-)
On two separate occasions, this classic cartoon went out of its way to normalize same-sex couples. The first instance occurred in 2005 when the spinoff “Postcards from Buster” came under fire for depicting children with two mothers. Even though there was no use of the word “lesbian,” it was still banned from several American television stations. The flagship series faced similar resistance in 2019 when Mr. Ratburn married another man. Once again, there were little-to-no overt references to the same-sex aspects of the storyline. But, sadly, that didn’t stop the state of Alabama from refusing to air the episode altogether.
#11: Canceled Creator
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“The Loud House” (2016-)
In the middle of its highly-rated second season, this show made some noise for all the wrong reasons. The series creator, Chris Savino, was abruptly terminated from Nickelodeon following several long-standing sexual misconduct allegations. A week later, Savino owned up to his actions and expressed regret over how he handled the situation. Since “The Loud House” was based on the experiences of its creator, many were skeptical about how it would continue without him. Luckily, the show bounced back from this PR disaster with more laughs than ever before. Even without Savino, “The Loud House” has continued to thrive.
#10: War & Conflict
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“Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” (1968-2001)
It’s somewhat poetic that an arc named “Conflict” so thoroughly lived up to its name. It all started in 1983 when “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” spent a whole week’s worth of episodes discussing the realities of war, death, and violence. To be fair, the show was no stranger to tackling difficult subject matter. But, this frank examination of the current political climate was simply too much for some. “Conflict” aired for the last time in 1996, and since then, it’s been left out of just about every official release of the show. If it weren’t for fans spearheading a restoration effort, there’s a chance these controversial episodes would have been lost to time.
#9: Identity Panic
“SpongeBob SquarePants” (1999-)
Who lives in a pineapple under the Sea? SpongeBob Squarepants! And who is also supposedly a secret gay advocate? Potentially everyone’s favorite underwater sponge! In 2005, a wide range of popular children’s shows collaborated for a charity music video. Sponsored by the “We Are Family Foundation,” it sought to promote diversity and tolerance in the spirit of Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family.” Cool, right? But, no, upon its release, conservative religious groups attacked the organization. While series creator Stephen Hillenburg had denied that Spongebob was gay years earlier, he stated that he considered the character “somewhat asexual.” So much for a faux-morality panic.
#8: Controversial Tweets
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“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” (2012-17)
Whenever you’re an actor for a children’s show, there is a common expectation that you’ll have a somewhat tame public image. However, it seems that Jason Biggs, who played Leonardo in “TMNT,” didn’t get the memo. The actor shared his thoughts on Twitter about the Republican National Convention and the private parts of Ann Romney, Paul Ryan, and Janna Little. Nickelodeon quickly apologized for the comments, and the incident led to Jason being replaced on the show from Season 2 onwards. After responding to the controversy, Jason Biggs insinuated this was far from the worst he’s done, pointing to his memorable scene from “American Pie.”
#7: Potential Islamophobia
“Fireman Sam” (1987-)
Children’s cartoons are mostly expected to contain lessons about moral and societal values. But this incident may make you consider if “Fireman Sam” was secretly preaching intolerance. This episode of the British animated cartoon first aired in 2014, but the “error” only came to light in 2016. One of the characters enters a room and slips on some papers, one of which looks like a page from the Qur'an. “Mattel” came out saying it was an unfortunate error when a member of the production company thought they were putting scribbles on a page. Despite the apology, people were up in arms about it on social media.
#6: Censored Dance
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“Steven Universe” (2013-19)
In a show that includes a lot of LGBTQ+ themes, you would think that the network that commissioned it would want to maintain that vision around the world. Apparently not in the United Kingdom. During the episode “We Need to Talk,” the characters Rose Quartz and Pearl dance romantically with each other. If you saw this in the US, you would’ve gotten the whole dance, including a moment where the two are very close to each other. But if you saw it in the UK, you instead would’ve gotten some alternative close-ups omitting that small segment. Fans were outraged, but Cartoon Network stood by their decision, saying that it was in line with the UK rating system.
#5: Host Troubles
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“Blue Peter” (1958-)
When a show is framed as “family-friendly,” the cast and crew are under a lot of scrutiny. This is the case for “Blue Peter,” the longest-running children’s TV series globally, which has had its fair share of hiccups. In 2007, a Blue Peter editor was fired after the show rigged a cat naming contest. But this was far from the most troublesome issue. One of the most notable involved former presenter Richard Bacon, leading up to Blue Peter’s 40th anniversary in the late ‘90s. Tabloids revealed that Bacon reportedly did cocaine during his tenure on the show. This revelation sparked media outrage, prompting a response from the Head of Children’s Programming at the BBC, resulting in him being let go from the program.
#4: Flashing Images Cause Mass Mania
“Pokémon” (1997-)
When companies translate a foreign cartoon to English, sometimes they choose to censor certain bits, like a particularly infamous “joke” during a beach episode in this show’s Season 1. Unfortunately, something got left in another time. During the Pokemon episode: “Dennō Senshi Porygon,” Ash and the gang get stuck inside a machine and have to fight Team Rocket and Porygon. Towards the end, an explosion animation featured red and blue flashes happening in quick succession, which triggered seizures in children with epilepsy. And then the news of it reportedly created mass hysteria. It of course wasn’t the intention of Japanese animators to harm anyone - and us either, which is why we’re not going to show the scene in question - but the episode was understandably pulled from broadcast.
#3: Dan Schneider’s Legacy
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Various
In 2018, Nickelodeon parted ways with one of their most prolific creators of all time. But, despite his resume, odds are Dan Schneider will only be remembered for the mountain of allegations levied against him. While Nickelodeon’s firing only explicitly cited his quick temper, many insiders have come out accusing Schneider of repeated sexual harassment. This included former “iCarly” star, Jennette McCurdy, who spent a section of her memoir detailing her harrowing experiences with someone only referred to as “The Creator.” Given the extent of the charges, many fans have also pointed to scenes in Schneider’s work that have not aged well at all. As a result, it’s unlikely Schneider, or his legacy, will ever recover.
#2: Elmo Actor Allegations
“Sesame Street” (1969-)
Sesame Street can’t seem to get a break when it comes to controversies. In one instance, a controversy arose over celebrity guest Katy Perry’s dress during a music video, causing the segment to be removed. In another, their YouTube channel got hacked, resulting in all of their videos being replaced with adult content! All parents really want is to make sure that their children are safe watching these shows, so when dangerous claims are made, it can cause panic. Kevin Clash, the actor behind the popular Sesame Street character “Elmo,” had several extremely serious allegations of sexual impropriety leveled against him in 2012. These claims garnered a lot of media attention, and despite the accusations eventually being legally dismissed, Clash left the series.
#1: Terrible Reality
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“Kid Nation” (2007)
There are reasons why there are stringent laws and regulations regarding children working in the film and television industry. Sure, it might make for exciting programming, but the aim isn’t to scar them for life! The cash-prize reality show “Kid Nation” sent a group of 40 children of various ages into the desert, challenging them to create a functioning society. The crew was informed to be as little involved as possible, allowing these vulnerable kids to experience genuinely distressing events. The disturbing premise resembles Willam Golding’s novel “Lord of the Flies,” and audiences agreed. Unfortunately, the parents were apparently poorly informed regarding what was involved, and the backlash meant it only lasted one season.
