Before this gets out of hand, let’s just clarify. It isn’t Arthur who is getting married, it’s Mr. Ratburn. Either way, when the wedding aired during the 22nd season premiere for the long-running animated series, there is at least one state that has filled out their RSVP in the negative. In a move that isn’t tremendously surprising given recent events, Alabama Public Television station APT decided to run an old episode instead. They’ve also said that they have no plans to ever air the episode in the future.
Programming director Mike McKenzie, in a statement on the matter, said that broadcasting the episode would break parents’ trust in the network.
“Parents trust that their children can watch APT without their supervision”, and that children “younger than the ‘target’ audience” might watch without parental knowledge.”
Substitute teacher Misty Souder summed up the issue best in an interview with AL.com on the banning of the show:
“I never thought I’d be going to battle for a gay rat wedding, but here we are.”
If you missed the episode because you live in Alabama, or for any other reason, you can catch it below: