Hannah Montana episode pulled by Disney
By Alexandra Heilbron on November 5, 2008 | 4 Comments
A controversial episode of Hannah Montana has been pulled by the Disney Channel. In the episode, entitled No Sugar, Sugar, Miley (played by Miley Cyrus) has to deal with her friend Oliver’s diabetes diagnosis. The third season episode, which was scheduled to air on November 9, screened early in an on-demand version to parents, according to the New York Daily News. A spokesman said: “During the scriptwriting stage of the Hannah Montana episode in question the matter of depicting a character with diabetes was reviewed by our Standards and Practices executives who consulted with medical experts to inform the story and ensure that it was told responsibly. Notwithstanding the measures we took, and based on the episode’s preview and early feedback from parents, we removed the episode from Sunday’s schedule and are now reevaluating it.” Another episode — Ready, Set, Don’t Drive — has been moved to the November 9 time slot. The story revolves around 15-year-old Miley’s first driving experience.
Air it anyways and let audiences inclusive of adults determine its value.
Yeah, naturally they would pull something that might be of value to all the little kiddies watching!
I think it’s a great idea to EDUCATE children as well as adults on an illness that affects many people in North America, many of which are children.
Parents who previewed it tell the real reason Disney yanked Hannah Montana’s episode about diabetes
http://www.examiner.com/x-264-Celebrity-News-Examiner~y2008m11d7-Parents-who-previewed-it-tell-the-real-reason-Disney-yanked-Hannah-Montanas-episode-about-diabetes
When you’re wrong, you’re wrong. In an earlier report, we told you that Miley Cyrus objected to the Disney Channel pulling a Hannah Montana episode about diabetes that was to air this Sunday.
Disney did not reveal the specific objections of the parents who previewed the show.
Thankfully one of our readers was among those parents and she was gracious enough to explain why they objected. Here is her full comment:
The parents objected to the following:
1) Misinformation about Type 1 Diabetes. The entire show focused on Miley stopping Oliver from eating sugar. Children and adults with type 1 diabetes CAN eat candy �� they simply take insulin to match what they eat. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease, such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, MS. Children with type 1 have done nothing to cause this �� their bodies have simply attacked themselves.
2) Eating a lot of sugar does not cause type 1 diabetes. Oliver, the character with diabetes, was portrayed as a sugar loving fiend �� at one point falling into a garbage barrel to get a half eaten and discarded candy bar.
3) Miley called Oliver “sugar boy.”Imagine a character in a wheelchair being called “wheelie boy” or ‘cripple boy”. It just isn’t funny, is it?
4) The show never mentioned Oliver checking blood sugar (children with type 1 typically check blood sugar by finger stick up to 10 times per day) or injecting insulin (children usually need 4 or more shots a day �� every time they eat �� or wear insulin pumps which continuously give them insulin throughout the day).
Type 1 diabetes is a serious medical condition. The parents who objected to this episode applauded Disney for their attempt to bring Diabetes education to the forefront but completely rejected the message that they served up. Considering that Hannah Montana is seen by many school children every day, we felt that this message was a dangerous one to promote. I certainly would not be happy if a fellow classmate of my young child called him “sugar boy”.
We thank Disney for pulling this episode. We also were in touch with the medical expert who consulted on this episode and his feeling was that his “consultation” was not reflected accurately in the script.
I’m sure my statements do not mean much to most people, but to the millions of children who have Type 1 diabetes it means the world that this hateful and damaging misinformation will not be aired.
Your statements mean the world to us, Michelle. Thank you so much for informing us about the true nature of this disease that affects so many of our children.