The Ukraine's National Expert Commission for Protecting Public Morality announced Tuesday that it was calling a special session after seeing a report by a right-wing religious group wanting SpongeBob Squarepants banned due to apparent "promotion of homosexuality."
The report, published last week on the fringe Catholic site "Family Under the Protection of the Holy Virgin," called the Nickelodeon cartoon series a "real threat to children." It also complained of Disney films' "pornography," the Ukrainian newspaper Ukraínskaya Pravda reported Thursday.
Other animated series targeted by the group include Family Guy, Pokemon, Futurama and The Simpsons. The report slammed them as "projects aimed at the destruction of the family, and the promotion of drugs and other vices."
Also under fire are Shrek, for "containing sadism," and South Park, for "reincarnation propaganda."
The report called on a ban on such children's shows, calling them "a large-scale experiment on Ukrainian children" to "create criminals and perverts."
Japanese anime series were slammed as "a clear example of sexist propaganda."
Irina Medvédeva, a psychologist quoted in the study, contended that children between 3 and 5 years old, after viewing such shows, "pull faces and make jokes in front of adults they don't know, laugh out loud and repeat nonsense phrases in a brazen manner."
The National Expert Commission for Protecting Public Morality, the state body which examined the report, eyes media to ensure that they heed Ukrainian morality laws. These ban -- among other things -- inciting religious hatred, producing or spreading pornography, and spreading alcoholism and smoking.
Besides being an enormous hit with kids, SpongeBob Squarepants has many adult gay fans in the United States. In the past, the Wall Street Journal reported that some of the series' reported $500 million sales in merchandise sales have come from gay men buying branded toys, lunchboxes and even thongs.
The claim that the sponge is homosexual appears to stem from the fact that he often holds hands with his best friend, a pink starfish named Patrick.
Apparently, another tip-off is the fact that SpongeBob lives in a pineapple underwater. He also gets boating lessons from Mrs. Puff. "Puff" is both an insulting and an affectionate term for a gay man.
SBSP creator Stephen Hillenburg has defended the yellow guy in the past. "I always think of him as being somewhat asexual," he once said.
"Everybody is different, and the show embraces that. The character SpongeBob is an oddball. He's kind of weird, but he's kind of special."
Too close for comfort?: SpongeBob Squarepants with his BFF Patrick Star, with whom he (gasp!) holds hands.
