The Muppet Show Gets Content Warning On Disney+

Disney+ has added a disclaimer that automatically plays before 18 episodes of the recently added The Muppet Show, warning viewers about "negative depictions" and "mistreatment of people or cultures… these stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now." The message displays before the corresponding episode will play, but does not indicate what specific content it necessarily refers to.

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While The Guardian recently reported on the disclaimers being added, it also speculated the addition of these messages was favored instead of cutting the flagged episodes. But as Entertainment Weekly points out, this doesn't seem to be the case: Two episodes from Season 5 (featuring guest stars Brooke Shields and Chris Langham respectively) feature major, noticeable edits, perhaps due to music licensing issues. However, as Disney has not yet commented on the matter the reasons for these changes are unclear.

But you can always count on eagle-eyed fans on Reddit to try to fill in the blanks. On r/Muppets, ItachiIshtar has made educated guesses on why this disclaimer was added to each episode--sparking a conversation about the irony of Disney's use of these warnings to "spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together," but needing to go to Reddit to find explanations and discussions.

The Muppet Show warning is the latest in a recent trend of disclaimer warnings to try to add historical context to older content. Previous examples include HBO Max issuing similar warnings to Gone with the Wind and Blazing Saddles.