PTC Celebrates Removal of 'Allen Gregory'

Program with Sexually-Aggressive Seven-Year-Old Never Should Have Aired

LOS ANGELES (December 2, 2011) - The Parents Television Council™ celebrated the removal of 'Allen Gregory' from Fox's upcoming broadcast schedule and thanked advertisers who responded to its concerns over the program’s graphic content. Fox announced that beginning January 15, the Sunday evening program will be replaced by "Napoleon Dynamite."

The title character in Fox's animated 'Allen Gregory' is a pushy, egotistical seven-year-old boy who drinks alcohol, engages in graphic sexual fantasies centered on his school principal, boasts about a sex tape, and uses harsh profanity. Following the show's premiere episode, PTC executed a behind-the-scenes advertiser campaign to communicate the deplorable /span>content that the sponsors were supporting. The program also earned PTC's "worst TV show of the week" label twice.

"With so many horrific news reports of children allegedly being sexually exploited by teachers and school administrators, we roundly condemn a television program like 'Allen Gregory' that makes light of a seven-year-old child's aggressive sexual pursuit of his school principal. We are thrilled that this program does not appear on the Fox midseason schedule, and we applaud all the sponsors who shared our concern and chose to shift their media dollars elsewhere. We hope the economic pressure led Fox to a quicker replacement of the program, which never should have graced the public airwaves," said PTC President Tim Winter.

"Even with 'Allen Gregory' being replaced in Fox's lineup, we have noted a disturbing pattern of child sexualization across the network's 'Animation Domination' block of Sunday shows. Regardless of whether the writers claim the 'humor' is intended for adults, kids are instinctively drawn to cartoons and Nielsen data prove it. Even 'Glee' is now glamorizing a sexual relationship between student and teacher. Advertisers who support such content will continue to hear from the PTC and its members and will be asked whether they are purposely linking their brands to the sexualization of children," Winter concluded.