Do you recall the iconic moment in Aussie television history when pop star and music icon Peppa Pig had one of the episodes of her reality television series, Peppa Pig, banned in our country? Well, I do, and I think of it nearly every day.
Back in 2012, Peppa Pig, chart-topper and show stopper, almost had her reality TV career upended by one single eight-legged fuckboi named Mr Skinny Legs.
Yes, it is true, a single spider caused a major furore with fans of the children’s television show back in the day, leading one episode to be completely banned in the country.
So why are we reminiscing about a children’s television show about pigs? Well, the whole banning of the episode has recently gained traction on Twitter, with a lot of Aussie folks only just learning about the fact in 2021.
This is my favorite trivia fact about peppa pig and I bring it up every time either peppa pig, spiders, or australia are a point of conversation
— Cour (@HeyItsCour) May 26, 2021
https://twitter.com/nahtsume/status/1399720136270090244?s=20
https://twitter.com/celestialgogs/status/1398408049853747200?s=20
You may be asking right now, why the hell was an episode about an animated pig found to be too controversial? Well, it has more to do with her spidery friend.
Introducing the 2004 episode of Peppa Pig, titled Mr Skinny Legs, in which we are introduced to the titular spider character, Mr Skinny Legs.
In the ep, Daddy Pig tells his kids that they shouldn’t be afraid of spiders because they’re super friendly. Something about treating all animals with respect, etc etc.
However, the problem with this episode airing down under lies in the fact that spiders aren’t actually that friendly over here. Realistically, they’re fkn deadly as hell, and we really don’t want our children walking up to a funnel-web and saying hello.
After a series of complaints in 2012, the episode was completely removed from the ABC’s website, and was never aired again.
You can have a look at the scene for yourself right here. Please enjoy.
The episode returned to Aussie screens in 2017, when it was aired by Nick Jr., who probably weren’t expecting to see a huge reaction from airing random episodes of Peppa Pig to the masses.
The company received multiple complaints, and became the centre of media scrutiny at the time, and then removed the episode completely. So yeah, the episode was banned in the country TWICE.
“The episode is light-hearted, friendly and very mild in impact; the overarching message of the episode is about respecting all creatures,” the company said in a statement.
“The context of the way the spider is portrayed in the episode lessens any impact of scariness or danger; the spider does not look real, it has a smiley face and is shown in the context of a show with other talking animals.”
Rest in peace spider episode of Peppa Pig. There’s a spider out there who longs for the episode to return, but alas, it will never happen.
