Press Release

Nickelodeon Gives Kids the Hard Sell on Homosexuality

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Contact: Buddy Smith
American Family Association
Tim Wildmon, President
P.O. Drawer 2440
Tupelo, Mississippi 38803
Phone 662/844-5036
Fax 662/842-7798
URL: www.afa.net

For immediate release: June 19, 2002

Special children's program promotes "gay" families

TUPELO, MS - American Family Association today said the Nickelodeon children's channel has betrayed parents who expected the network to be a safe haven for their kids, after airing a special promoting the homosexual lifestyle on Tuesday night.

"The show last night was exactly what we expected: a slickly-produced program that pretended to be about tolerance, but in the end redefined the concept of family to include same-sex couples," said AFA President Tim Wildmon. "Kids who were watching would have been strongly persuaded to accept that premise, and I think that was Nickelodeon's intention."

Entitled Nick News Special Edition: My Family Is Different, the program was hosted by Linda Ellerbee, a journalist and well-known advocate for "gay" rights. Ellerbee quizzed participating adults and young people about their views for the half-hour show, including three young people who voiced their disapproval of homosexuality.

"Ms. Ellerbee treated everyone on the program with great respect, but while the Christian kids acquitted themselves very well, the deck was purposely stacked against them and their message," Wildmon said. "There were only three other adults on the program, and they were all openly homosexual - including lesbian actress and talk show host Rosie O'Donnell. And the ending montage of photos and children speaking made the point of the program very explicit."

Wildmon said that message was typified by one girl at the end who said, "There are families that are Jewish. There are families that are Catholic. There are families that are Muslim. There's no one type of family, I mean, who defines what a good family is?"

"While Nickelodeon tried to answer that question by implying that no one has a right to define a family - and therefore we should accept same-sex couples - the network and Ms. Ellerbee are wrong,' Wildmon said. "God has already clearly defined the family, and no one in this country has the right to thumb their noses at that."

He added that the overwhelming weight of research on family life clearly indicates that kids do best in a home with both the biological mother and father.