FCC Chairman Carr scolds Democrats for opposing transgender 'warning' label in kids' TV ratings

When a novel flu epidemic hit Springfield on a 1993 episode of The Simpsons, devout Christian neighbor Ned Flanders feared that his chuckling at a suggestive joke on Married … with Children might have prompted divine wrath.

"Oh, the network slogan is true!" Flanders wailed, referring to the home of The Simpsons and Married … with Children. "Watch Fox and be damned for all eternity!"

Thirty-three years later, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr aims to mitigate another epidemic spreading under the radar in children's TV programming, lest it widely infect impressionable eyes and ears: gender ideology.

He has thrice publicly excoriated congressional Democrats in the past two weeks for opposing the shorthanded commission's work to "ensure that parents have the information necessary to decide what is appropriate for their own kids and families to watch," as Carr posted Monday afternoon on X and had reposted by Tuesday morning in case anyone missed it.

Carr first blasted "nearly 70" Democratic lawmakers Sept. 28 for "pushing to prevent parents from having any say over their children being exposed to controversial gender identity ideologies" on TV, referring to a June 5 letter from Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey and a June 22 letter led by California Rep. Mark Takano, signed by 68 House Democrats in all.

He pointed to Disney Jr.'s 2018 reboot of the 1980s cartoon Muppet Babies, which in the episode “Gonzo-rella" has male Gonzo wearing a "princess dress to a royal ball," passing as a girl and going by plural pronouns. Netflix's Strawberry Short Cake reboot "promotes a trans character that wears clothing that matches the transgender pride flag," Carr said.

Contrary to these brands promoting themselves as "family friendly [...] the FCC's record is now replete with all sorts of examples of Hollywood and New York programmers going around parents to promote their gender ideologies," he said.

In both posts, Carr shared Takano-specific images of his Sept. 22 response letter to apparently every Democrat who signed the congressman's letter. He does not appear to have shared the original 204-page PDF beyond page 14 of the commission's document feed as of Tuesday night; the most recent letters posted to Carr's own commission page are from 2025.

The pugilistic chairman is known for threatening ABC with regulatory consequences when its late-night host Jimmy Kimmel claimed without evidence the suspect in the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk was part of President Trump's "MAGA gang."

A federal judge expressed skepticism about the FCC's proposed early review of ABC's broadcast licenses at a hearing Tuesday, Politico reported.

Last month, Carr accused Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico of another "hoax" by portraying Kimmel's decision not to air Talarico's interview on broadcast, but only post it online, as "the interview Trump’s FCC doesn’t want you to see" under the guise of the commission's equal time rule. 

Talarico did the same when CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert posted his Talarico interview online but didn't air it on broadcast. 

The nominee is lying "for the purpose of getting clicks and donations," Carr said. "The Equal Time statute does not prohibit anyone from interviewing anyone on broadcast TV" but "simply requires broadcast stations to offer comparable time and placement."

Programming that 'acknowledges' trans people or 'encourages child mutilation'?

The FCC sought public comment in April on whether the ratings system devised by the private TV Oversight Management Board, to preempt the FCC from designing one under the 1996 Telecom Act, "is continuing to provide the information that is relevant to parents today."

The Media Bureau notice cited parental concerns that "controversial gender identity issues are being included or promoted in children’s programs without providing any disclosure or transparency to parents," such that industry guidelines are "rating shows with transgender and gender non-binary programming as appropriate for children and young children."

Nearly 38,000 comments have been filed as recently as Sept. 30, about 400 of those "standard filings" by interest groups and professionals including lawmakers, LGBTQ activists and conservative organizations. Even the standard filings widely flouted the May 22 deadline for comments, while some didn't even make the June 22 deadline for reply comments.

Markey, the top Democrat on the Senate's Telecom Subcommittee for two decades, accused Carr of twisting "legislation that I authored" to coerce the ratings system to put a "special warning on programming that acknowledges transgender and nonbinary Americans," which he called "legally baseless, morally cruel, and dangerous to First Amendment-protected speech." 

The House Democrats' letter said the effort "harken[s] back to a time when politicians sought to censor television programming because they included minorities," harming "transgender people and transgender acceptance" by limiting their representation in media.

"We disagree with extremists trying to paint portrayals of LGBTQ+ people and families as harmful to our kids," reads a representative critical filing by the National Women's Law Center and Red Wine and Blue on behalf of 1,743 parents. "Television programming should accurately reflect the communities and families that make up our country."

Nearly 50 GOP lawmakers signed a July 15 letter responding to the House Democrats' letter, accusing the signers of "actively working to push gender dysphoria and mental health issues onto our children" through content that "encourages child mutilation," apparently meaning that children may seek so-called gender-affirming care after seeing trans characters their age.

Carr's letter to House Democrats says they "come out swinging against both transparency and common sense," taking the "radical position that parents have no right to know" about ideology in children's programming despite studies showing "a massive spike in younger people identifying as transgender[,] with some attributing this to media exposure."

Parents 'caught off guard by a trans-identifying cartoon character'

It's not clear why Carr went public against the Democratic letters three months after the second deadline. Neither Carr on X, nor the FCC via email, answered Just the News queries about the timing and whether formal commission action is pending.

But it cheered supporters of a ratings system that flags gender identity-related content.

"Have you ever been caught off guard by a trans-identifying cartoon character while your child was watching television?" Patrice Onwuka, the vice president for Economic Policy for the Independent Women's Forum, wrote after Carr's first post.

She noted IWF's official comment about TV shows for "younger audiences promoting non-binary, trans, and queer characters that expose children at too young an age to sexual themes," and rebutted Democrats' claim that the proceeding is the "latest political attempt of FCC to censor content the Administration does not agree with."

"Bizarre and sad," Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, wrote in sharing Carr's first post. 

"Demonic," Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton wrote, also referring to Democrats' position.

"Democrats are pushing to expose children to gender ideology," anti-woke medical advocacy group Do No Harm wrote, sharing Carr's second post. "A growing number of children's cartoons now feature transgender and non-binary storylines, often in shows rated for children seven and under."