Peppa Pig, man. She’s just a pig trying to live her pig life. Trying to get on with her pig business like her little brother George, Mummy Pig and Daddy Pig.
She’s got her own show, so she’s pretty much living the dream. So, what could this pig have possibly done to get a whole episode banned in Australia?
Befriend a goddamn spider, that’s what.
Yep, Australia has banned a 2004 episode of Peppa's show in which she makes an arachnid friend called 'Mister Skinnylegs'. The moral of the story is that spiders are "very, very small and can't hurt you".
Spiders, says Peppa, can be our friends.
NOT IN AUSTRALIA, PEPPA.
HERE, WE RUN.
The episode aired two weeks ago on the 25th August on Nick Jr, a channel available on Foxtel, where it was spotted by eagle-eyed Sydney mum Jess.
"It came on and I thought, 'Is this the (restricted) episode I'm thinking of?' It was, so I turned it off," she told Essential Baby.
After initially refusing to drop the episode, claiming "The context of the way the spider is portrayed in the episode lessens any impact of scariness or danger; the spider does not look real, it has a smiley face and is shown in context of a show with other talking animals", Nick Jr removed it from programming rotation after being contacted by media.
The worst thing? It's not the first time it's happened.
A parent watching the show in 2012 complained to the ABC that this pro-spider propaganda wasn't really appropriate for children in this country. And the ABC agreed. And so do we.
The ABC, saying they actually never meant to show the episode in the first place. It was accidentally published online due to a technical problem. PROBABLY A MASSIVE SPIDER IN THE OPERATING SYSTEM.
Peppa's UK viewers will continue to befriend their harmless spiders.
But here we will maintain the fear, respect, and safe distance.
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Top Comments
I don't think it should be aired in Australia.
we have seen this episode, not sure if on TV or on DVD purchased here. but all we do is remind them that here it's best not to approach a spider as they aren't all harmless. my kids won't approach even a dead spider. so seeing the episode has not made them want to befriend a spider
I imagine that regardless of Peppa pigs contents most parents will hace the sense to make sure their children are aware that spiders are dangerous and if they don't undoubtably schools will. But it is irresponsible to air a program, fictional or otherwise, that airs a complete lie. As the article says the moral of the story was "Spiders can't hurt you." Fine for the UK where that's true, but in Australia where our spider friends include that good chum Mr. Whitetail, the delightful madam Redback and Sydney's sweetheart Dr. Funnelweb, it's a dangerous lie.
We've seen it too. I teach my dd not to touch spiders. This is something I would have to do even if she had never seen that episode simply because she is a curious child discovering the world.