Arthur creator Marc Brown defends same-sex marriage episode

Marc Brown, creator of the animated children’s show Arthur, defended the recent same-sex wedding episode in a new interview.

While speaking with People magazine, Brown said he was ‘disappointed’ by the bevy of conservatives critics who came out out of the woodwork agaisnt the episode.

‘I’m really proud of that episode,’ Brown said. ‘And I will defend it to anybody who wants to talk about it.’

A week ago, PBS aired the Season 22 premiere of Arthur called Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone.

In the ‘groundbreaking’ episode, Mr. Ratburn, Arthur’s teachers, marries his male partner, Patrick, an aardvark chocolatier.

After the episode gained prominence online, it became evident that Alabama Public Television (APT) chose not to air the episode. Mike Mckenzie, director of programming at APT, said the decision not to air it came down to airing programs that parents can ‘trust’ their children to watch.

‘Not the kind of world we want to live in’

Brown gave a passionate defense of the episode to People, specifically expressing his disappointment with APT.

‘Why shouldn’t their teacher marry another man?’ he questioned. ‘We all know people who are gay, who are trans, and it’s something that is socially acceptable. Why is there this discomfort that it takes a leap into our national media?’

He continued: ‘I don’t want children or people who are different to feel excluded. That’s not the kind of world we want to live in. And we want children to be educated so they can see there’s not just one type of family. Everyone should feel represented. I think we did that with Arthur.’

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