Copyright Parade
A new Wheel of Fortune category has some viewers spinning for all the wrong reasons. The long-running game show is facing backlash from the conservative group One Million Moms, which is calling for a boycott over its recently introduced “What the Fun?” category. The organization argues the name implies profanity and makes the show unsuitable for families. “The once family-friendly ‘Wheel of Fortune’ game show is no more,” One Million Moms wrote in an October 30 statement on its website. “Unfortunately, the recently added puzzle category ‘What the Fun’ aims at a mature, modern audience with insinuated profanity making it no longer suitable for family viewing.” The group went on to say, “It is not the show it was with this implication of the f-word. Parents will have to explain to their children that the primetime program they were once allowed to watch is no longer a clean show.” READ MORE: The Numbers Are In for Ryan Seacrest’s First Season on ‘Wheel of Fortune’ The statement also included a petition urging producers to remove the category, which the group says “taints” a show that once prided itself on being family-friendly. As of this week, more than 12,000 people have signed the pledge to stop watching unless the category is taken off the board. The organization, a ministry under the American Family Association, has a history of targeting pop culture moments it deems inappropriate. They recently criticized promotional slogans for the upcoming SpongeBob movie — including “Ship’s about to go down” and “This Christmas they are in deep ship” — for what it considers inappropriate wordplay. And article claiming that Ocean Spray’s new ads are “demonic” was also shared. The show’s producers have not commented publicly on the controversy.
