Movieguide® Praises ABC/Disney for Following Its Company
Standards and Canceling ‘Bigoted’ Program ‘GCB’
Hollywood, Calif. – For family and child advocate Dr. Ted Baehr, founder and publisher of Movieguide®: The Family Guide to Movies and Entertainment, ABC/Disney’s cancellation of its “bigoted” show “GCB,” which mocked and ridiculed Christians, was a “victory for faith and values.”
“GCB” was based on the novel “Good Christian B*tches” by Kim Gatlin.
Dr. Baehr said “GCB” violated the Walt Disney Company’s own stated commitment (in its company document “Citizenship Targets 2012”) to “championing and inspiring our key audience of children and families” and to help them make “a lasting, positive change in the world.”
“You don’t inspire or champion anyone by mocking and ridiculing someone’s faith,” he asserted.
Dr. Baehr noted that, according to various national polls, 92 percent of Americans say they believe in God, 76 percent claim to be Christian, and at least 73 percent believe Jesus Christ is God and/or the Son of God and that Jesus Christ is “the Son of God who died for our sins.”
“There are more than 2.3 billion Christians around the world,” he added. “Why would you want to offend this vast audience of consumers?”
Dr. Baehr said he was also disturbed that the canceled program seemed to fit into “old-fashioned” stereotypes about Christians in the so-called “Bible Belt” of states like Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Georgia.
“I thought we were supposed to condemn that kind of bigotry and bullying,” he concluded.
Movieguide® was part of a national campaign to convince advertisers to abandon the show and support more family-friendly programming.