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CLAIMS THAT AN animated children’s show on Netflix shows “gay sex” are untrue, and appear to be part of a wider wave of criticism against Netflix for featuring LGBT+ characters.
A video seen more than 63,000 times since being posted to Facebook on 1 October criticises a scene in an animated TV show, based on the Jurassic Park film franchise.
The show does feature a brief, close-mouthed kiss between two fully-clothed female characters, but the show contains no explicit sexual activity.
The claim appears to be part of an online movement to “cancel Netflix”. The campaign has been encouraged by X owner, Elon Musk, who shared criticisms that the company hires too many non-white directors and lead actors, and that their stories include LGBT+ people.
Some Irish activists have also joined in the criticism of the online streaming service. A video posted by anti-immigration commentator Michael McCarthy shows a clip of a Netflix show, along with his commentary that it shows “gay sex”.
Video footage shows a TV screen on which a 3D animated TV show plays.
In the scene, one girl tells another that she has “fallen” for her. The other girl replies to say she was waiting to hear those words for a long time. They briefly embrace and kiss (with their mouths closed).
McCarthy adds his own commentary as the video plays, saying: “You think you’re getting dinosaurs. No! Gay sex!
“You want a movie about teddy bears? No, gay sex!” he continues.
“When I have kids I think I’ll just show them the stuff I watched as a child: Bananas in Pyjamas,” he says.
“This stuff, the new kid’s programmes: not a fear am I letting kids watch them. They’re just going to throw in gay sex anytime they can.”
The TV show seen in the footage is from Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous, a spin-off TV that had five seasons from 2020 to 2022 and a plot that focused on teenagers who were stranded on an island inhabited by dinosaurs.
It is rated PG, or Parental Guidance, due to violence or threats depicted in the show. In Ireland, this generally means that there can be frightening scenes, but these should not be sustained or graphic. The Irish Film Classification Office (IFCO) notes that stronger violence “may be permissible in what is clearly a fantasy or comic context.”
Typically, the IFCO says that films rated PG are suitable for children aged eight or older, but that “parents/guardians – who know their own children best -” should make that decision.
Specifically, the footage being spread online is from near the end of episode 9 of Season 5, the fourth last episode in the show’s run.
For the rest of the episode, other than briefly holding hands, there is no further physical contact between the two characters. Their attention is largely taken up by dinosaurs.
The show’s final episode shows the heroes of the series reunited with their parents, including the two girls who had kissed. They hold hands nervously in front of their families, who then embrace them.
The show ends on a flash forward scene that shows that one of the girls has been visiting the other and staying with her family. A hand on a shoulder is the only contact between them.
Both girls are fully clothed during these scenes and, despite McCarthy’s commentary, there are no implications of “gay sex”.
The Journal has previous debunked claims by McCarthy that the government needs to nominate candidates to run for president.
The Journal has also previously fact-checked claims by McCarthy that incorrectly named organisations it says are receiving State funding; that the Swedish city of Malmo was as dangerous as Baghdad, that children are being taught Islamic prayers in schools; that footage of a woman being attacked in a church was from Europe; and that the majority of Irish people are against the EU.
The Journal’s FactCheck is a signatory to the International Fact-Checking Network’s Code of Principles. You can read it here. For information on how FactCheck works, what the verdicts mean, and how you can take part, check out our Reader’s Guide here. You can read about the team of editors and reporters who work on the factchecks here.
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