Ellen Barkin Says Utah NBC Affilate Dropping of ‘The New Normal’ Is “Censorship”

NBC’s ‘The New Normal’ Cancelled

Ellen Barkin came out swinging again against the NBC Utah affiliate that decided not to show The New Normal. “Yes, it’s an affiliate’s right to ban something but I think it is censorship,” the actress told Deadline today of the KSL-TV decision. “For our brand, this program simply feels inappropriate on several dimensions, especially during family viewing time,” announced Jeff Simpson, CEO of the station’s parent company, Bonneville International last week. Soon afterwards Barkin took to her Twitter account, calling the affiliate’s decision “blatantly homophic.” On a conference call today, Barkin, after some initial hesitation, reiterated her position and asked why KSL-TV would air a violent show like Law & Order: SVU but not a show about “a same sex couple that want to have a child.” Created by Glee boss Ryan Murphy and Ali Adler, The New Normal is about a gay couple that is having a baby through a surrogate. Andrew Rannells and Justin Bartha play the couple, Barkin plays June the bigoted 58-year old grandmother of their surrogate Goldie, played by Georgia King. Calling the series “a show full of love, sensitivity and more fun than a barrel of monkeys,” Barkin said that she thought it dealt with a “very important issue” of “what makes a family” in “a very divisive county.” The actress, who called herself “overly opinionated,” added, “controversy is a good thing.” The action last week by the Mormon Church owned station, which also doesn’t broadcast Saturday Night Live, received blunt criticism from GLAAD and other organizations. The New Normal debuts on September 11 on NBC.

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