
An American animated children’s show has been pulled from the air in Malaysia following complaints about a kiss between two men on the show.
As the South China Morning Post reports, state broadcaster Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) has temporarily removed Santiago of the Seas from its network TV2’s schedule after viewers complained about a same-sex kiss in an episode that aired on November 16. According to the outlet, viewers objected to seeing the characters Rio and Martín — married, same-sex mermen voiced by Thomas Hobson and James Monroe Iglehart — share a kiss on the cheek.
Related
Conservatives rage at old Netflix cartoon for showing two women kissing
According to IMDb, Hobson’s character appeared in only one episode, “Lorelai’s Family Vacation,” which originally aired in the U.S. on Nick Jr. in 2023. Images from the episode, widely available online and posted to social media by Santiago of the Seas co-creator Niki Lopez, clearly show Martín planting a chaste kiss on Rio’s cheek.
SANTIAGO OF THE SEAS featured a gay couple on a special episode that premiered yesterday on Nick Jr.
Source: LGBTQ Nation