A Netflix show for preschool-aged children has received major backlash after airing an episode about a “nonbinary” character that uses “they/them” pronouns. While the show has now been canceled by the streaming platform and no more episodes will be produced, it is still available for viewing.
In the fifth and final season of the children’s show, “Ridley Jones,” a female bison who has changed its name from “Winifred” to “Fred” is worried about revealing its new identity to Grandma Dottie, who is voiced by Cyndie Lauper.
Ridley Jones, the show’s title character, asks another character if Fred is a boy or a girl, to which the character replies, “I don’t know… they’re just a Fred.”
In a scene that will undoubtedly confuse the toddlers watching the show, the bison character tells Ridley Jones, “The last time I saw my grandma, I used a different name and pronouns. Now grandma doesn’t know I’ve changed.”
“She still thinks I’m her granddaughter instead of her grand… Fred,” the young bison says.
Later in the show, Fred confronts Grandma Dottie and reveals their new gender identity as non-binary, a concept that is somehow important to teach to 3-year-olds.
Speaking to the grandma bison, Fred says, “My heart says that the way I feel most myself is to go by the name Fred. That’s because I’m non-binary, and Fred is the name that fits me best.”
The creators doubled down on the gender ideology lesson, adding in the concept of pronouns.
“And I also use they and them, because calling me a she or a he doesn’t feel right to me,” Fred said.
Ridley Jones is a programme on Netflix. It’s aimed at preschoolers.
Kids aged 3-4.
Practically toddlers.
And they’re being surreptitiously exposed to gender ideology in this apparently cheerful, colourful, U-rated cartoon.
Leave. Kids. Alone.@netflix @NetflixUK pic.twitter.com/a6zZSt1O70
— brandubh (@brandubh4) March 15, 2023
A lot of critics called the show out for pushing a woke, LGBTQ+ agenda onto toddlers who are too young to even understand the concept of non-binary in the first place.
Journalist Ian Miles Cheong called for people to cancel their Netflix subscriptions in protest to the woke agenda being peddled by the streaming platform.
Author Ryan James Girdusky tweeted a clip from the controversial episode, calling the content “beyond gross.”
A new Netflix show tells children to question their sex and pronouns… this is beyond gross
pic.twitter.com/A1m4eFm59W— Ryan James Girdusky (@RyanGirdusky) March 14, 2023
Netflix quietly canceled the show, not renewing it for another season after the final season came out last week. The most recent season didn’t receive much publicity from the streaming platform, which frustrated the show’s creator Chris Nee who thought the woke company should have made a big deal about the non-binary episode.
Nee expressed her disappointment in Netflix’s decision to release the fifth season without any advertisements or promotions. She wrote on Twitter,
“Doesn’t surprise me that Netflix has quietly dumped the first preschool show that has a non-binary character coming out. [In] Ridley Jones 5 episode Happy Herd Day Fred tells their Grandma played by [Cyndi Lauper] that they’ve changed their name and pronouns. Watch it. Tweet about it.”
Doesn't surprise me that Netflix has quietly dumped the first preschool show that has a non-binary character coming out. Ridley Jones 5 episode Happy Herd Day Fred tells their Grandma played by #CyndiLauper that they've changed their name and pronouns. Watch it. Tweet about it. pic.twitter.com/IUQ05ftshb
— Chris Nee (She/Her)🏳️🌈 (@chrisdocnee) March 8, 2023
Nee urged parents to watch the show with their kids, saying, “It’s important. It’s a roadmap for coming out but also for having someone else tell you they’ve changed their pronouns and/or name.”
I realize in this day and age dumped means many things. Just zero promotion of the episode. So go watch it. Show your kids. It's on Netflix. It's important. It's a a roadmap for coming out but also for having someone else tell you they've changed their pronouns and/or name. pic.twitter.com/D7r4Ym8Scp
— Chris Nee (She/Her)🏳️🌈 (@chrisdocnee) March 9, 2023