The following is taken from an article in the San Francisco Chronicle, 10/14/93.
"Beavis" Will Get a Makeover. (Death prompts MTV to cut fire references).
MTV is "reformulating" its "Beavis and Butt-head" cartoon series and "deleting all references to fire" by the characters, according to a statement issued yesterday by the cable channel.
Next week's Senate Commerce Committee hearings on TV are expected to be dominated by "Beavis and Butt-Head," which became an issue after an Ohio mother blamed the characters' affinity for pyrotechnics for a fire set by her 5-year-old son. The blaze killed his two year old sister.
While calling that incident "a tragedy," the MTV statement added, "We do not believe the 'Beavis and Butt-head' cartoon was responsible. We feel the steps we are taking are the proper ones."
Mike Judge, the series' creator, was to be on CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman" last Friday but failed to show up. MTV spokeswoman Tina Exarhos said, "We yanked him (Judge) off 'Letterman' in light of what happened in Ohio."
On Monday, MTV for the same reason canceled a heavily promoted "Beavis and Butt-head" episode in which an animated Bill Clinton turns up at the lads' high school.
"The timing wasn't right in light of everything that's happened," said Exarhos.
Exarhos said MTV hopes to reschedule Judge's appearance with Letterman and that the Clinton episode will be shown at a later date.
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In other words, this is complete BULLSHIT!!!! I am getting sick and tired of people blaming television for their problems. If there's one thing that really gets driven home, it's that all it takes is one lunatic psycho to create a news story. The media doesn't care about whether B/BH is responsible for this person's death. They just know they can stir the pot with a controversial story like this. This is how Anita Hill became a national story. I don't care if this woman had cable or not. I don't even care if she approves of her kid watching B/BH or not. The point is, if she's not teaching her kid that lighting fires is bad, then she has no one to blame but herself for not teaching her kid right and wrong. It's not the government's, school's, society's, or even TV's fault if the youth of America are all fucked up. The fault lies with the parents.
Just my $.02 worth. AAAAARRRRRGGGHHHH!
Starchild.
Senate Committee Hearings - "They'll be talking about the penis. They'll be talking about the vagina. They'll be talking about venereal disease. And they will certainly be spending a lot of time on MASTURBATION.