This story originally appeared on Them.
One Million Moms is coming for a true TV mother.
The well-known conservative activist group, which does not have one million members, has recently started campaigning against an ad for PrEP shown on TV Land, a network dedicated to airing classic television. The ad in question stars RuPaul’s Drag Race judge and executive producer Michelle Visage.
The group said in its campaign kickoff post that the network “steps out of line” with its normal programming by choosing to air the ad, called “PrEP Wisdom,” alongside its roster of shows.
“The PrEP Wisdom campaign by ViiV Healthcare features Michelle Visage, a well-known television personality and HIV advocate, who also serves as a regular judge on ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race,’ a reality show in which drag queens compete for the title of America’s Next Drag Superstar,” the post reads. “So, it is no surprise that many of those ads include transgender and cross-dressing individuals.”
OMM called the ads “inappropriate for obvious reasons, especially when airing before prime time when children are still awake and likely watching television.”
“Can you imagine what goes through the mind of a child, tween, or teen when seeing this ad? A parent never expects to discuss sexuality or homosexuality while sitting at home enjoying family time,” the petition reads. “TV Land needs to know it is not acceptable to air mature ads when children are likely watching. Also, the timing of these advertisements is extremely poor, airing during G-Rated family-friendly shows such as ‘The Andy Griffith Show.’”
As of press time, OMM’s petition to TV Land has just north of 10,000 signatories.
The “PrEP Wisdom” campaign, which debuted just one month ago, features Michelle Visage discussing PrEP, a medical regimen taken to prevent HIV, by a poolside party and in a dressing room.
The ad does not feature any mention of the LGBTQ+ community, nor does it explicitly say the words “HIV,” including only mention of “injectable PrEP options.”
One Million Moms is a subsidiary of the American Family Association, a group that pushes anti-LGBTQ+, anti-pornograpy and anti-abortion ideology. Per its own mission, AFA is a “Christian organization promoting the Biblical ethic of decency in American society with primary emphasis on TV and other media.”
The group has been known for being something of a gadfly in recent years, with many of its nonsensical campaign targets not really resulting in any substantive changes. In the past, the group has lashed out against gay characters in Marvel comics, against Ellen DeGeneres being a spokesperson for JCPenney’s, against a Campbell’s soup ad with two gay dads, against a Burger King commercial featuring the word “damn.”They even claimed that an absurd Geico ad featuring a woman on a date with a pig featured “bestiality.”
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