The Disney Channel has come under fire for featuring a lesbian couple for the first time in a family show on Sunday.
During an episode of ‘Good Luck Charlie’ a child and her two mothers arrive at the main character Charlie’s house to play.
The One Million Moms organisation – which campaigns against the exploitation of children by the entertainment media – launched a campaign last year to urge Disney to drop the storyline when it was announced in June.
Officials
But officials did not respond, and before the episode was aired the group asked its members to contact one of the programme’s sponsors to urge them to withdraw funding if the show was broadcast.
On its website, One Million Moms warned that by introducing LGBT content, the Disney Channel risked opening the doors for all other programmes.
“Disney has decided to be politically correct instead of providing family-friendly programming. Disney should stick to entertaining, not pushing an agenda”, the group said.
Legal
“Just because something may be legal or because some are choosing a lifestyle doesn’t make it morally correct”, the group also said.
The programme Good Luck Charlie is ending its series run on 16 February. The lesbian couple is unlikely to feature again.
When announcing the storyline last year, Disney said: “This particular storyline was developed under the consultancy of child development experts and community advisors”.
Diversity
“Like all Disney Channel programming, it was developed to be relevant to kids and families around the world and to reflect themes of diversity and inclusiveness.”
In 2011, a veteran Disney animator suggested that the corporation would consider making a movie featuring a gay family if they found the right kind of story.
Andreas Deja, who is a homosexual and has worked on Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King, declared Disney as an “extremely gay-friendly company”.