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Toddler’s F-bomb on “Modern Family” Stirs Controversy with College Club

Toddler’s F-bomb on “Modern Family” Stirs Controversy with College Club
1/19/2012
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Suada Kolovic

Bill Cosby was right: Kids really do say the darndest things. Sometimes, they’re awesomely hilarious but at other times, they’re horribly inappropriate and then there’s that awkward moment when a child first discovers profanity. (Oh, fudge.) Once this happens, fingers are generally pointed at a rowdy uncle, that unruly park down the street or the classic scapegoat…television. And while most adults accept that a child parroting naughty words is a part of the language learning process, others disagree, like the college anti-profanity crusader who asked ABC to pull this week’s “Modern Family” episode featuring a toddler using a bleeped curse word.

The child, played by Aubrey Anderson-Emmons, actually said the word “fudge” during taping but because her mouth was obscured by pixilation, viewers got the impression that her character used the actual F-word. This isn’t good enough for the founder of the No Cussing Club, though. "Our main goal is to stop this from happening," said McKay Hatch, an 18-year-old Brigham Young University student who founded the club in 2007. "If we don't, at least ABC knows that people all over the world don't want to have a two-year-old saying the `F-bomb' on TV." Hatch is insisting his 35,000 club members complain to ABC.

Meanwhile Steven Levitan, creator and executive producer of the sitcom with Christopher Lloyd, told the Television Critics Association last week that he’s “proud and excited” about the F-word plotline. "We thought it was a very natural story since, as parents, we've all been through this," Levitan said to EW.com, but added, "I'm sure we'll have some detractors."

Do you think having a two-year-old swear like a sailor is a bit much for network television or is the No Cussing Club overreacting to what’s really nothing more than the implication of a cuss word? Let us know where you stand in the comments section.

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