Cartoon Network Censors Its First Gay Kiss on New Show Clarence

It could've been a big moment, but it never made it on air

By Lily Harrison Oct 28, 2014 6:33 PMTags
Gay Couple, ClarenceCartoon Network

It could've been a big moment, but it never made it on air.

Cartoon Network decided to pull the plug on a kiss between two gay characters on their new show Clarence, replacing the moment with a kiss on the cheek instead.

The show's writer, Spencer Rothbell, confirmed on Twitter what was actually supposed to happen in the scene between the two animated characters.

"Originally the guy had flowers and they kissed on the mouth," he said when a fan asked how hard it was to get a gay couple on the network. His tweets have since been made private.

And while it's unclear what lead Cartoon Network to change the scene, Rothbell explained that what would have been a PDA moment between the two characters shouldn't have been up for debate.

"It's such a minor throwaway moment but I guess it's better than nothing," he later posted on his Tumblr, giving credit to the fact that the cheek kiss still made it into the final draft of the program.

"Maybe one day the main character can be gay and it won't be a big deal."

In a similar vein, the Disney Channel featured it's first-ever gay characters when a lesbian couple was written into an episode of Good Luck Charlie.