Alabama Public TV Doesn’t Air Arthur Episode Because of LGBTQ Themes

Alabama Public Television (APT) didn’t air a recent episode of long-running children’s TV show “Arthur” because the episode featured a same-sex wedding, reported AL.com.

In the groundbreaking episode, which premiered the 22nd season, Mr. Ratburn, one of Arthur’s teacher, marries his male partner Patrick.

Instead of airing the episode, APT just showed a rerun of the show. Mike McKenzie, the director of programming at APT, said the group chose not to air the episode so as not to upset parents and children.

“[A]lthough we strongly encourage parents to watch television with their children and talk about what they have learned afterwards, parents trust that their children can watch APT without their supervision,” he said. “We also know that children who are younger than the ‘target’ audience for ‘Arthur’ also watch the program.”

This is not the first time APT has done this; the group pulled an episode of “Arthur” in 2005 which depicted Buster visiting a girl who had two mothers.

An Alabama mother and teacher Misty Souder told AL.com that she was disappointed the episode was not aired, as she was looking forward to watching it with her daughter.

“I just want her to be aware,” she said. “There’s too much going on not to stand up for stuff, even if it’s Arthur. I never thought I’d be going to battle for a gay rat wedding, but here we are.”

Alabama is the only state to not air the episode.