'Hannah Montana' diabetes episode pulled from Disney Channel

[ALIASd]

Miley Cyrus' 'Hannah Montana' diabetes episode pulled

By Richard Huff
New York Daily News
Tuesday, November 4th 2008, 4:00 AM

Dovarganes/AP
Miley Cyrus

The Disney Channel pulled an episode of "Hannah Montana" (starring Miley Cyrus), a program about diabetes that was to air Sunday, because of comments from parents who saw it in an on-demand version.

The episode, which sees Hannah's pal Oliver diagnosed with diabetes, ultimately delivers a feel-good message to viewers that the disease can be dealt with successfully. Disney aired a promo in which Nick Jonas talked about his own battle with diabetes.

Miley Cyrus' 'Hannah Montana' diabetes episode pulled

[Joshrzmeup]

I saw the episode (in so-so quality) on Youtube the other day. I don't see what was so bad about it that parents complained. The article states that they confered with specialists to get the facts right, and the episode does not make fun of diabetes, it tells kids what exactly it is and the advances that have been made.

[Radiobarry]

I'm not a fan of the show, which I'm sure doesn't bother anybody because I'm not exactly in the target audience demo.

I am increasingly less a fan of the Disney Channel. I think this is just another in a long line of unfortunate decisions. As an obese diabetic myself, and seeing the numbers of obese youngsters we have now, I say that this show could have done an awful lot of good.

Once again, nice going, Disney Channel.

-- Barry

[haunted_hottie]

It's too bad the show was pulled; this is a topic that more and more families are having to deal with. Type 2 Diabetes is becoming increasing more prevalent with younger groups and while they may not be insulin dependant at the time, it could turn that route if not taken care of.

I think Disney really is so scared to step on anyones toes that the only stuff they put on the Disney Channel are topics like "what to wear to school" and "what if boy x doesn't like me?"

[ALIASd]

Originally Posted by haunted_hottie

I think Disney really is so scared to step on anyones toes that the only stuff they put on the Disney Channel are topics like "what to wear to school" and "what if boy x doesn't like me?"

This isn't quite true, the subject has been tackled previously:

NICK JONAS TELLS HOW HE LIVES WITH DIABETES

IN NEW EPISODE OF
"JONAS BROTHERS: LIVING THE DREAM,"
PREMIERING FRIDAY, AUGUST 8 ON DISNEY CHANNEL

15-year-old Nick Jonas shares his experience of being diagnosed with Diabetes, how he has learned to manage it in his daily life, especially while on concert tour, and how his health crisis gave him inspiration to write a song to help others dealing with challenges, in a new episode of the music-filled reality series "Jonas Brothers: Living the Dream," premiering FRIDAY, AUGUST 8 (7:55 p.m., ET/PT) on Disney Channel.

But pulling the episode obviously timed to lend awareness to important topic is completely odd.

November is American Diabetes Month®, a time to bring even greater awareness and attention to the seriousness of diabetes, its deadly complications, and the importance of proper diabetes control.

American Diabetes Month - American Diabetes Association

[Melonballer]

I'd like to hear why the parents did not like the episode. It's not like it is South Park or anything. Though if it was I am sure it'd be a lot funnier.

[MickeyMousePal]

Any chance this episode will be on a season set of Hannah Montana?

[Mr. Yeti]

I think that this has happened before. I believe the That's So Raven anti-smoking episode was not shown on the Disney Channel in the US (though I think it was shown elsewhere) and did not debut until a good while after the actual That's So Raven series had ended. We'll probably see the Hannah Montana episode in some form down the road.

[sir clinksalot]

Hmm, I'll have to see if this is still possibly on our "On Demand" and check it out.

[Semiquaver]

That's too bad it was pulled. Kids need exposure to this. I remember when I was a kid there was an episode of The Babysitter's Club that dealt with diabetes. I only watched a few episodes (I don't think there were that many), and this one stuck with me. It involved something about one of the lead girls eating a lot of sweets since it was the holiday season, despite her friends and family trying to intervene. She ended up spending Christmas in the hospital. In the end she treated her diabetes with more respect but it was clear it was a manageable condition.

I must have been pretty young when I watched this, maybe 6 or 7, but when my dad was diagnosed with diabetes, I remembered this episode and I could cope with it. I knew it wasn't the end of the world.

[ALIASd]

Disney Trying to Cure Hannah Montana Diabetes Plot

Fri., Nov. 7, 2008 4:00 PM PST
by Natalie Finn
eonline

The Disney Channel confirmed to E! News that the network scrapped the episode it had intended to open the hit series' third season—an episode titled "No Sugar, Sugar" that features a character (Hannah's pal Oliver) dealing with diabetes—after some initial concerns as to how the disease was portrayed.

According to a network executive, the Disney Channel's Standards and Practices team consulted with medical experts during the script-writing process "to inform the story and be sure it was told responsibly."

"Notwithstanding the measures we took, and based on the episode's preview and early feedback from parents, we removed the episode from Sunday's schedule and are now reevaluating it," the Disney rep said.

"We will await the results of the episode review by a variety of experts and then will make a determination on the episode's future. Most importantly, we listened to those who expressed their concerns and consulted with the creative team (programmers and producers)."

It was then that they chose to pull the Nov. 2 episode, opting to make "He Ain't a Hottie, He's My Brother" the sitcom's season-three premiere instead. Episode No. 2, "Ready, Set, Don't Drive" (Billy Ray's message to the almost-16-year-old Miley, perhaps?) premieres Sunday.

"Still, there is great interest, especially from parents, in seeing the subject of living with diabetes somehow incorporated into our storytelling for kids and families, so we're hopeful we'll do so in the future," added the Disney Channel exec.

And it's not as if the Mouse House doesn't have a handle on the subject matter already. Also on Nov. 2, the Disney Channel aired an installment of Jonas Brothers: Living the Dream that explored how Nick Jonas manages his diabetes both at home and on tour. The 16-year-old JoBro appeared in a PSA afterward in support of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Disney Trying to Cure Hannah Montana Diabetes Plot - E! Online

[Angie_Duke]

Parents objected to incorrect facts regarding Type 1 Diabetes in the episode and the portal of her friend which made it seems as if they were making fun of people with Diabetes.

The parents objected to the following:


1) Misinformation about Type 1 Diabetes. The entire show focused on Miley stopping Oliver from eating sugar. Children and adults with type 1 diabetes CAN eat candy — they simply take insulin to match what they eat. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease, such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, MS. Children with type 1 have done nothing to cause this — their bodies have simply attacked themselves.


2) Eating a lot of sugar does not cause type 1 diabetes. Oliver, the character with diabetes, was portrayed as a sugar loving fiend — at one point falling into a garbage barrel to get a half eaten and discarded candy bar.


3) Miley called Oliver "sugar boy."Imagine a character in a wheelchair being called "wheelie boy" or 'cripple boy". It just isn't funny, is it?


4) The show never mentioned Oliver checking blood sugar (children with type 1 typically check blood sugar by finger stick up to 10 times per day) or injecting insulin (children usually need 4 or more shots a day — every time they eat — or wear insulin pumps which continuously give them insulin throughout the day).


Type 1 diabetes is a serious medical condition. The parents who objected to this episode applauded Disney for their attempt to bring Diabetes education to the forefront but completely rejected the message that they served up. Considering that Hannah Montana is seen by many school children every day, we felt that this message was a dangerous one to promote. I certainly would not be happy if a fellow classmate of my young child called him "sugar boy".

We thank Disney for pulling this episode. We also were in touch with the medical expert who consulted on this episode and his feeling was that his "consultation" was not reflected accurately in the script.

I'm sure my statements do not mean much to most people, but to the millions of children who have Type 1 diabetes it means the world that this hateful and damaging misinformation will not be aired.