Now I really want to watch it! 'One Million Moms' boycotting ‘The Muppets’ new TV show due to adult humor

From slashfilm, You know that grunt-like scream that Miss Piggy makes when she’s really made and frustrated? That’s pretty much what the American Family Association offshoot One Million Moms is doing right now as they boycott ABC’s The Muppets TV show premiering this Tuesday at 8pm Eastern.

The organization touts a mission statement saying that they are trying to “stop the exploitation of our children, especially by the entertainment media” and “stand against the immorality, violence, vulgarity and profanity the entertainment media is throwing at your children.” Or more succinctly put, “We want our children to have the best chance possible of living in a moral society.”

So it might come as no surprise that The Muppets TV series, which has been described as having a more adult-skewed tone than previous Muppet stories, has the organization in uproar because the show apparently makes nonchalant jokes about sex and drugs. Find out more about One Million Moms boycotting The Muppets below.

In an e-mail sent out to all their subscribers, members and followers, which they also posted on their website, the organization says of The Muppets:


“ABC hopes children watch the show and predict they would enjoy some of the humor, but 1MM would disagree. It is not the show it once was. ABC has ruined “The Muppets.” How many parents want to explain the punchline of sexually charged jokes to young children?

Many parents unknowingly will let their children watch an episode only to find out its perverted nature too late, unless they are alerted ahead of time. 1MM and others need to get the word out to families to avoid this program at all costs.”

At all costs? Really? That sounds a bit dramatic, folks.

There’s nothing more mind-boggling to me than a show, or anything for that matter, needing to be done away with because a parent doesn’t want to have a pivotal conversation with their kids, even when it’s the kind that a parent issupposed to have. As a parent, you are responsible for your child. It’s not the media or anybody else’s job to police what children are exposed to. Here’s an idea, why not watch any given show that you are thinking of allowing your child to seebefore you sit your impressionable child in front of the television?

Keep in mind that this is the same organization that boycotted JC Penney for employing Ellen DeGeneres as a spokesperson because she was a lesbian, protested Disney Channel’s Good Luck Charlie for featuring lesbian parents, and scolded Chobani yogurt for having a commercial with a lesbian couple. They also recently protested the forthcoming Fox series Lucifer for glamorizing Satan.

The Muppets have traditionally skewed towards family friendly programming, but there are plenty of jokes in all iterations of the shows, movies and more that only adults will get. The Muppets have also appeared on Saturday Night Live, but the folks at One Million Moms were likely smart enough to not sit their oblivious kids in front of the late night sketch comedy show just to see some Muppets.

The adult humor angle for The Muppets is nothing new. This is just looks like one organization hellbent on making an uproar because they’re too lazy to be parents themselves. Anyway, even though this cry for boycott including a phone number and more for people to call and voice their dissension, don’t expect One Million Moms to make a dent in ABC’s premiere plans for The Muppets this week.

However, if the early buzz is any indicator, we likely wouldn’t have much of an argument to make against the organization if they were protesting the show based on the supposed quality. Even though the show was at the top of the list of our 16 new fall 2015 shows we’re excited about, it doesn’t sound like the pilot sets up a promising new series endeavor for Jim Henson’s creations.

If you want a better idea of what to expect from The Muppets, watch the 10-minute pitch video right here. Otherwise, the sinful version of The Muppets premieres September 22nd at 8pm Eastern on ABC.