‘Euthanize the police dog’: Eric Trump and Ted Cruz lead the outrage on Twitter in response to claims protesters want to ‘cancel Paw Patrol’ – as Live P.D. becomes the latest cop show to be pulled from TV
- As a string of cop shows are pulled from TV schedules in the wake of nationwide protests against police brutality, calls to ‘defund the paw patrol’ emerge
- The amusing demands were made after the show’s official Twitter page issued a heartfelt statement last week calling for ‘Black voices to be heard’
- The animate show follows the day-to-day heroics of a squad of essential-worker canines, including Chase, a German Shepherd police dog
- ‘Euthanize the police dog,’ demanded the faux outrage mob and ‘Defund the paw patrol,’ others echoed in jest
- While the calls to cancel Paw Patrol were purely satirical, they come at a time when relations with real-life law enforcement have become incredibly fractured
- Protests against police violence entered their third week this week, and the outrage has started to mount against fictional and reality TV cops too
- A&E announced the cancellation of its flagship series Live P.D. on Wednesday, following a day after Spike TV pulled the plug on Cops after 32 seasons
As a string of cop shows are pulled from TV schedules in the wake of nationwide protests against police brutality, sarcastic calls to ‘defund the paw patrol’ and cancel the children’s cartoon have created a stir among conservatives online.
The amusing demands were made after the show’s official Twitter page issued a heartfelt statement last week calling for ‘Black voices to be heard’ in the wake of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, and the unrest that has rippled out across the country in the more than two-weeks since.
But the animated show – which follows the day-to-day heroics of a squad of essential-worker canines, including Chase, a German Shepherd police dog – likely couldn’t have expected its message to backfire so spectacularly.
‘Euthanize the police dog,’ demanded the faux outrage mob. ‘Defund the paw patrol,’ others echoed in jest.
As a string of cop shows are pulled from TV schedules in the wake of nationwide protests against police brutality, sarcastic calls to ‘defund the paw patrol’ and cancel the children’s cartoon have created a stir among conservatives online
The amusing demands were made after the show’s official Twitter page issued a heartfelt statement last week calling for ‘Black voices to be heard’ in the wake of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, and the unrest that has rippled out across the country in the more than two-weeks since
One meme even parodied the animated film ‘All Dogs Go to Heaven’, insisting that all pooches do indeed reach the Pearly Gates, ‘except the class traitors in the Paw Patrol’.
Some called the show pro-law enforcement ‘pawpaganda’; others demanded Chase’s resignation from the Adventure Bay Police Department.
‘How much will Paw Patrol be donating to bail funds?,’ asked one user.
While the calls to cancel Paw Patrol have been purely satirical, they come at a time when relations between the public and real-life law enforcement have become incredibly fractured, with protests against police violence entering their third week.
The outrage has started to mount against fictional and reality TV cops too, with A&E announcing the cancellation of its flagship series Live P.D. on Wednesday, following a day after Spike TV pulled the plug on the show Cops after 32 seasons.
‘This is a critical time in our nation’s history and we have made the decision to cease production on Live PD,’ the network said in a statement to Deadline. ‘Going forward, we will determine if there is a clear pathway to tell the stories of both the community and the police officers whose role it is to serve them. And with that, we will be meeting with community and civil rights leaders as well as police departments.’
The fact, though, that there could be any disdain levelled toward Paw Patrol stirred alarm for some on social media.
‘Now the left wants to cancel “Paw Patrol”,’ tweeted Eric Trump. ‘These people are truly insane…’
‘The rage mob is coming for PAW PATROL,’ conservative radio host Dana Loesch warned.
‘I’m sorry, I refuse to believe this is the New York Times, and not The Onion,’ Fourth Watch media critic Steve Krakauer tweeted.
Former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly added that the fanfare was ‘beyond parody’. That view was shared former presidential hopeful Ted Cruz, who said ‘The absurdity knows no end.’
The official Paw Patrol page has so far refrained from wading into the controversy. But the anguish of Kelly follows from comments she made earlier Wednesday, admonishing HBO Max from removing Gone With the Wind from its streaming platform, amid criticisms the movie glorifies the antebellum South.
‘Are we going to pull all of the movies in which women are treated as sex objects too? Guess how many films we’ll have left? Where does this end?’ she asked as part of a tweeted thread.
The journalist sarcastically argued that if movie giants and streaming sites start to pull down controversial shows and films that means hits like Friends, Game of Thrones, and Law and Order must be taken down too.
‘Ok @hbomax – let’s do this – every episode of “Friends” needs to go right now. If not, you hate women (& LGBTQ ppl), who also don’t fare well on “Friends”. Obviously Game of Thrones has to go right now. Anything by John Hughes…Woody Allen…could go on & on & on & on…’ she said.