The Learning Channel’s programming isn’t all innocent shows about young boys and girls dolled-up in pageants. Sometimes the network slips up, Jon Stewart said Tuesday.
Like TLC’s new show, All-American Muslim. “What are they thinking?” Stewart said. “Who gives a jihadi terrorist cell a show? I say … assuming that that must be it, because there’s a controversy.”
That’s right. The program shockingly shows normal Muslim families living their lives in Dearborn, Michigan. Stewart rolled a clip showing one of the couples discussing their anxiety leading up to the birth of a child.
“That wouldn’t be interesting to hear even if that guy was building a bomb as he was talking,” Stewart said. “That is the most boring reality show imaginable. It seems to just show Muslims living their lives like the rest of us fucking idiots.”
But the show has stirred up some controversy. The Florida Family Association, a right-wing social conservative group, objects to the show because it dares to show Muslims as, well, normal people. The group urged supporters to email the show’s advertisers.
And it seemed to pay off. The hardware company Lowe’s pulled its advertising from the show, but insisted it wasn’t a political decision. Essentially, the company stated that the existence of Muslims is a controversial “topic,” and not a great way for the company to reach consumers.
“You still advertise on The Learning Channel, the network with the show that airbrushes four-year-old girls like the side of a van in Jersey and sends them to sashay out on the stage like they’re in a Warrant video,” Stewart said.
Watch the videos (Part 1):
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Part 2:
David Taintor
David Taintor is TPM’s News Editor. He contributes to TPM’s Livewire coverage, among other areas. David is from Chanhassen, Minnesota, where, yes, it gets very cold. Reach him at taintor [at] talkingpointsmemo.com
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