TV station: Gay family show banned for being “inappropriate during family time”
A television station based in the US has come under heavy criticism for their decision not to air a new NBC sitcom about a gay couple, their surrogate and her family.
‘The New Normal’ was deemed inappropriate by a spokesperson from the Utah-based KSL-TV, due to: “crude dialogue, explicit content and offensive characterisations,” Deseret News reported.
The TV station took the decision not to air the show, despite being an NBC affiliate. Jeff Simpson, CEO of the KSL parent company released a statement:
“After viewing the pilot episode of ‘The New Normal,’ we have made the decision to keep it off our fall schedule. For our brand, this program simply feels inappropriate on several dimensions, especially during family viewing time.”
Ellen Barkin, who stars in the show, took to Twitter in an attempt to raise awareness of the choice not to air the show. She tweeted her followers, and popstar Lady Gaga, and called for a equality:
“@ksl5tv wont air gay-themed NBCsitcom TheNewNormal https://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/lifestyle/54759750-80/ksl-nbc-normal-gay.html.csp … @ladygaga c’mon lil monsters this is how monstrous the world is!”
A follower of Barkin’s tweeted back: @EllenBarkin Thank you for sticking up for us gays. I will say though that I wish @nbcthenewnormal was just called normal. One day.
The new show had come under fire from One Million Moms, who published an article which stated:
“NBC is using public airwaves to continue to subject families to the decay of morals and values, and the sanctity of marriage in attempting to redefine marriage. These things are harmful to our society, and this program is damaging to our culture.”
