“VeggieTales” Co-Creator Won’t Show Gay Marriage Since It’s Not “Best for Kids”

If you’re eagerly awaiting new episodes of the Christian-themed kids show VeggieTales… you’re probably not a regular reader of this site. But the episodes will return! Trinity Broadcasting Network has resurrected the series.

Naturally, a lot of the conversation about the reboot involves what the new episodes will look like. Will they deal with topical issues from a Christian perspective or just teach generic biblical principles as they did in the past?

It’s especially concerning for some conservative Christians since TV shows and movies for kids have recently received attention for depicting same-sex couples as (gasp) normal.

But no need to worry, VeggieTales aficionados. Phil Vischer, co-creator of the show and the voice of its main character, says anything he creates will never depict such a thing.

Phil Vischer said he won’t compromise if pressed.

“If I get pressure from Hollywood to show two men getting ‘married’ because we’ve all decided it’s right and correct, my pushback is: ‘No, I won’t,” he stated. “Because that’s not what I believe is best for kids.”

“It’s more about what we show as normal rather than explicitly showing something and saying, ‘that’s wrong,’” he said. “I’m portraying the positive rather than the negative.”

We’re sorry to dash everyone’s hopes of seeing two tomatoes in a Christian cartoon joining together in holy tomatrimony and urging kids to make safe decisions by using condiments. If you see marriage in the episode, it will be between two different vegetables — just like God intended.

We kid. Vischer wasn’t talking about his cartoon but Christian-themed media overall. Still, the message he’s sending is disturbing. While it’s not surprising that an evangelical Christian would oppose same-sex marriage, it’s still beyond the pale to hear someone treat it as a decision that’s somehow bad for kids or suggest that showing a same-sex couple without even commenting on the issue is somehow “negative.”

They’re people. (Or rats. Or fruit. We don’t judge.)

If the concern is protecting kids, then Christians would be much better off sanitizing the Bible than avoiding a realistic depiction of humanity. Same-sex couples exist — which even Vischer doesn’t deny — and showing them as regular people is hardly a commentary on sin.