'Barney And Friends' Could Have Been Canceled For These Shocking Reasons
Thanks to the fact that there are so many channels, streaming services, and YouTube channels these days, there seem to be endless options for children’s entertainment. In years past, however, that certainly wasn’t the case. As a result of the fact that things have changed, it may be hard for today’s children to understand how incredibly popular the show Barney & Friends was at the height of its popularity.
Back when it seemed like every kid loved the big purple dinosaur known as Barney, it seemed like the show could do no wrong. In reality, however, even extremely popular shows get canceled sometimes. When it comes to Barney & Friends, the show ultimately was on the air from 1992 until 2010 but based on what went on behind the scenes, it could have been canceled years earlier.
Barney & Friends' Biggest Controversies
As parents, it can often be hard to know which shows and movies are safe for your children to watch. After all, some kids' shows are a lot more inappropriate than people realize at first. When parents let their kids watch Barney & Friends, however, they could rest assured that the show about the big purple dinosaur wouldn’t offend anyone.
Unfortunately for the people who worked behind the scenes on the show, even though it was a family-friendly program, Barney & Friends was the subject of a few controversies. For example, after the show came to an end, it was revealed that one of the most notable actors who portrayed Barney went on to become a tantric sex therapist.
As shocked as some people were to learn that one of the actors who played Barney had gone on to be a sex therapist, that pales in comparison to the incident the show’s co-creator got wrapped up in. In 2013, Barney & Friends’ co-creator Sheryl Leach had her life turned upside down when her son Patrick got in an argument with the family’s neighbor. Tragically, the argument got out of control and Patrick fired a bullet into the chest of his neighbor in the heat of things. After pleading no contest when he wound up in court, the son of Barney & Friends’ co-creator was sentenced to fifteen years in prison.
Why Barney & Friends Could Have Been Canceled Much Earlier
Given how popular Barney & Friends was in the past, it seemed like there was nothing the show could do to get canceled as long as kids continued to watch. In reality, however, even though most people think that TV ratings are what matters most when deciding if a show stays on the air, that isn’t the case. After all, the only thing that matters is how profitable a show is and high ratings make a difference since companies pay more to advertise on shows that lots of people watch.
At the height of the show’s popularity, Barney & Friends was the subject of a shocking amount of lawsuits. Since court battles are costly based on the court and lawyer fees alone, being sued so many times could put the future of any show in question.
During the years Barney & Friends was on the air, the show became best known for, the “I Love You” song. With that in mind, it is likely to come as a shock to many people that Barney & Friend’s production company was taken to court by that song’s writer. Worse yet, several of the companies that sold Barney merchandise were sued by the songwriter as well. In the end, it took months for things to be worked out so that Barney could be seen singing his most famous song once again. To say that the people who produced Barney & Friends lost out on a lot of money during those months is an understatement.
Between 1997 and 2001, Barney & Friends’ production company went after several people in court for supposedly infringing on its intellectual property. For example, they sued costume companies and they took the person who portrayed the San Diego Chicken to court after his character repeatedly beat up someone who was dressed as a purple dinosaur. At the end of the day, Barney’s production company lost all of those lawsuits due to parody laws or findings that people didn’t intentionally infringe on Barney’s copyright. Fighting all of those battles would have been very costly.
Of all the lawsuits that the people who made Barney & Friends got wrapped up in, the one involving a Canadian toy company was the most damaging by far. After they agreed to sell Barney and Baby Bop plush toys in Canada, a company named Ganz sued because the merchandise wasn’t delivered to them on time. On top of that, they felt that other companies were allowed to sell similar Barney items in Canada which went against the deal they made. Ultimately, Ganz was awarded more than $4 million in damages.
Based on the long list of lawsuits that the people who made Barney & Friends got embroiled in and their remarkable ability to lose every time they went to court, their legal battles became a major headache. On top of that, the fact that many of the companies that partnered with Barney & Friends’ production team to sell merchandise were sued as well was even more problematic. When any show becomes that big of a pain for the people involved, the chances of it coming to a premature end skyrocket.
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