The Muppets Have Not Been Canceled
The Claim
The Muppets have been canceled.
News posted on
Emerging story
On February 22nd, 2021, Donald Trump Jr. tweeted that “The Muppets have now been canceled. There’s nothing these psychos won’t destroy. Liberalism is a disease.”
The tweet received more than 12k retweets and 64k likes. Some people argued with Donald Trump Jr.’s take and one user pointed out that “Disney literally just made this show available to a huge audience,” calling it a “truly fascinating use of the word ‘cancelled.’”
Other users joined him by blaming it on Liberalism.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s investigation found this claim to be fake. The Muppets have not been canceled. According to multiple sources, Disney+ began streaming all five seasons of The Muppets on February 19th, putting a disclaimer on 18 of the 118 available episodes.
“This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures. These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now,” the disclaimer states. “Rather than remove this content, we want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it and spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together.”
Disclaimer warnings are not new for Disney content. They have previously added them to Disney films Aladdin, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, The Jungle Book, The Aristocats and Dumbo.
One of the most questionable Muppet scenes is country signer Johnny Cash performing in front of a Confederate flag. This scene has not been removed or canceled from The Muppets.
Two episodes from the 5th and final season of The Muppets have actually been removed. One of the removed episodes featured Chris Langham, who was found guilty of possessing child pornography in 2007. Another episode featuring Brooke Shields was removed due to difficulty securing the music rights.
