‘Charlie Brown Thanksgiving’ Scene Deemed Racist by Some Viewers

ABC aired A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving as part of their pre-holiday programming, and fans had some issues with the classic special.

The classic television special based on the Peanuts comic strip originally aired back in 1973 and continues to be essential programming for American families, along with the other specials 1965’s A Charlie Brown Christmas and 1966’s It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

However, 2018 audiences did not stay silent to some controversial scenes from the show, with many labeling the program as “racist” on social media.

“Watching Charlie Brown’s Thanksgiving is hard knowing they put my n— Franklin at the end of the table by himself,” one Twitter user wrote.

“Watching A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving as I always do and I’m tight [as f—] every year because they give Franklin a freaking folding pool chair to sit on while everyone else has a comfy chair,’” another user commented.

One particular scene did not sit well with viewers as the Peanuts cast united for the holiday feast when Franklin, the only African American member of the cast sits on his own on one side of the table.

The confusing seating arrangement for the dinner left many viewers concerned as to what message the vintage television special showed its younger audiences.

“How come Franklin, Charlie Brown’s only black friend, sits alone on the other side of the table? And in a lawn chair,” another user commented.

It has been reported in the past that Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz was an outspoken advocate for equal representation, though that does not seem to stop the comments from 2018 viewers of the program.

The comments sparked a debate on Twitter about A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, with a lot of fans coming to the defense of the beloved special and saying viewers were overly sensitive about a plot point that was not on purpose.

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving first aired on Nov. 20, 1973 on CBS, and continued to air every year on that network until 2000. The next year it moved over with the other Peanuts specials to ABC.

The network airs the special on Thanksgiving night, though on other occasions, like this year, it is aired prior to the holiday. In 2018, the special ran taking over the 8 p.m. timeslot from The Goldbergs and American Housewife, followed by reruns of Modern Family, Single Parents.