A far-right Italian politician has called for an episode of the children’s TV series Peppa Pig to be banned in the country.
The episode, entitled “Families”, was broadcast in the UK on Tuesday (6 September). It is noteworthy for introducing the characters of two co-parenting lesbian polar bears.
Federico Mollicone, a member of the right-wing Italian political party Brothers of Italy, who are predicted to win the general election this month, said broadcasting the episode in Italy would be “unacceptable”.
“Once again the politically correct has struck, at the expense of our children. Can’t children just be children?” he told La Stampa (as reported by The Guardian).
“We ask Rai, which buys the rights to the Peppa Pig series in Italy with a fee from all Italians, not to broadcast the episode in question on any channel or web platform.”
It is not yet known when the episode will be broadcast in Italy.
The new characters are parents to the pre-established Peppa Pig character Penny. “I live with my mummy and my other mummy,” she says in the episode. “One mummy is a doctor and one mummy cooks spaghetti.”
They represent the first female same-sex couple to feature in the popular children’s show, which has been running for 18 years.
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