NEWS'The New Normal' Banned from Utah TV Station; Ellen Barkin Slams Station on Twitter, Calls Decision "Homophobic"
Aug. 25 2012, Published 7:00 a.m. ET
The New Normal, a sitcom featuring a gay couple and the family of a woman who becomes a surrogate for their baby, has been banned from a KSL-TV, a Utah television station and NBC affiliate. The decision is likely to draw a lot of criticism, and the first person to blast it is New Normal star Ellen Barkin.
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"Shame on u @kslcom not airing @NBCTheNewNormal So L&O SVU (rape & child murder) is ok? But loving gay couple having a baby is inappropriate?," Barkin Tweeted Friday. "Anyone in Utah interested in @NBCTheNewNormal please clog up @ksl5tv feed 4 their blatantly homophic decision 2 not air the show #KSLBigots," she later added.
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"After viewing the pilot episode of The New Normal, we have made the decision to keep it off our fall schedule. For our brand, this program simply feels inappropriate on several dimensions, especially during family viewing time."
Jeff Simpson, CEO of Bonneville International, the parent company of the station, told the Deseret News that the show's "crude dialogue, explicit content and offensive characterizations," were the main reasons the ban was imposed.
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The move comes shortly after One Million Moms, who previously tried to organize a boycott of JC Penny for hiring Ellen DeGeneres as a spokesperson, called the show "harmful to our society."
The New Normal comes from Glee, American Horror Story and Nip/Tuck creator Ryan Murphy, and premieres in September on NBC and also stars Justin Bartha, Andrew Rannells, Georgia King and The Real Housewives of Atlanta's NeNe Leakes.
