Sara A. Carter By
Two episodes from the children’s cartoon “SpongeBob SquarePants” have been pulled by Nickelodeon.
Nickelodeon has pulled an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants “due to sensitivities surrounding the global, real-world pandemic,” Nickelodeon’s Executive Vice President of Communications David Bittler said. The episode, titled “Kwarantined Crab,” features a virus storyline, where a health inspector requires patrons to quarantine at the Krusty Krab after discovering a “clam flu” virus.
Nickelodeon confirmed that a second episode, “Mid-Life Crustacean,” has also been removed from the network and other streaming platforms. In the episode, SpongeBob, his friend Patrick and SpongeBob’s boss Mr. Krabs, break into a woman’s house and steal her underwear.
Bittler said the episode was pulled in 2018 “following a standards review in which we determined some story elements were not kid-appropriate.”
Newsmax host Sean Spicer reacted to the news on Thursday’s episode of “Spicer & Co.”
“I get this feeling that people are waking up in America now and going, ‘What can I cancel out? What can I complain about? What can I find a problem with?” Spicer said.
“I get it, there are things that are wrong and we need to right those, but it’s like now everybody is walking around on eggshells about something that was said 20-30 years ago.”
SPONGEBOB SQUEEZED: Two 'insensitive' Spongebob episodes have been pulled from Nickelodeon's lineup – @SeanSpicer and @LyndsayMKeith react. https://t.co/EOpdKYvdTt pic.twitter.com/lX7AKiahkB
— Newsmax (@newsmax) April 1, 2021
Recently, other children’s material has been reexamined for offensive content. Six Dr. Seuss books will no longer be published due to racial imagery and a “Captain Underpants” book has also been pulled for perpetuating “passive racism.”
