The firing of Melanie Martinez, 34, marks the second PBS moral values scandal. The first was the censorship of the “Postcards from Buster� episode last year where Buster the Bunny, who regularly visits families in every episode, went to visit a family with two mommies. Previous families featured in “Postcards� episodes have included Mormons, Hmong and Pentecostal Christians.
Melanie Martinez was fired from her position as host of PBS KIDS Sprout's "The Good Night Show" because she appeared in two 30-second online films when she was 27, “Technical Virgin� and “Boys Can Wait,� that spoofed abstinence-only education. The PBS ombudsman dedicated two of his columns to voice his opposition to the firing of Melanie, but her job wasn’t saved. Melanie says there is no lawsuit in sight.
I spoke with Melanie one Tuesday afternoon in September, until her 4-year-old son said, “Mommy, I’ve been waiting a long time.� Here’s Melanie…
Have your feelings about the situation changed since you first got fired?
I guess they have changed because I now have a better perspective on what happened. I am able to separate myself from the situation now. But, it doesn’t lessen the fact that it is upsetting that it happened.
Is there any talk of bringing you back at all?
No. They’re actually hiring somebody new to fill the place that I had.
Do you think there is a double standard in children’s television? Pee Wee Herman was able to masturbate in public and still have his career. And actors like George Carlin, who do not do G-rated work, are able to appear on “Sesame Street.�
I can only comment on what happened to me. I was fired for what I feel to be a trivial internet video that I acted in, several years ago. I’ve never felt that the videos were wrong or inappropriate or not acceptable to the public. [Laughs] They definitely were not made to be kid-friendly; the director made them for an adult audience.
As far as the double standard, I’ve learned that there have been actors that have been characters on certain children’s television shows that have done “The Sopranos,� that have done “Law & Order,� that have done other adult-themed works, just like I did. It’s confusing to me why I was pinpointed for having an obscure 30-second parody on the internet.
The actors or celebrities that have gone on “Sesame Street,� I don’t think were asked to go on “Sesame Street� for the audience, which is children. They go on “Sesame Street� because their parents would know who they are. So, that also is a little confusing to me.
I never crossed a line that I shouldn’t have with my audience, which were 2- to 5-year-olds.
Do you want to go back into children’s television?
It’s been offered to me. I would rather not at this point. Going through what I’ve been through, and although it’s been presented to me that there is a fan base out there that enjoyed having me as a host, I can happily say that I’ve moved on from children’s television. [Laughs] I entertain my son every day. [Laughs]
And especially since, believe it or not, I’ve been walking through doors that I haven’t been able to walk through before. And it’s an exciting time. I kind of came out with my dignity and grace and integrity intact, and I think people or the industry recognized that and see I can be viable in some other entertainment venue rather than just children’s television.
Do you have any particular fears about your future? Or do you think you’re more hopeful than fearful at this point?
No, I’m not fearful at all. From the very beginning when this whole thing went down, I always had a straight head on my shoulders. I was just not able to control the decision, which was very frustrating.
Have you received a lot of mail or email ever since your firing? Any hate mail?
I’ve received email and messages from people who know me in the neighborhood. But nobody knows my address to send me mail. [Laughs] But walking around in the playground with my son, or walking around the parks around where we live, I’ve gotten only support. And I think it’s interesting because we don’t get Sprout [channel] in the city as much as elsewhere. When we travel, I’m recognized more as Melanie from “The Good Night Show� than in the city. I would say that after the fact, I am more recognized as Melanie now than when I was doing the show. Mothers come up to me and give me support.
Friends have sent me links to blogs, and it seems like it’s only support but some of the blogs’ petitions have comments like: “Give her another chance, you were young once,� “People can change in seven years,� “She is a mom now.� Please, nothing has changed the way I feel about the videos. I think they are hilarious and still a relevant parody on what the kids are taught in school today.
The decision to be in the videos was made by a socially aware adult married actress, albeit a comedic one! Not as a “mistake� or a “poor decision made in college which should now be forgiven.� Definitely not a “skeleton in my closet�! It’s always been listed on my resume. I wanted to act in them because it was a funny smart parody of the abstinence-only teaching in schools that I am against. Not abstinence per se, but the popular federally funded abstinence-only curriculum. Children deserve to be taught a responsible comprehensive sex education curriculum. The spoofs were a way to get people to realize how absurd the notion is, particularly back when the video was made, the Not Me Not Now group. They base their teachings on scare tactics. And what about alternative lifestyles? To them, they don’t exist!
How did your family feel about PBS’ decision to fire you?
They were sad for me that I lost a job that I really enjoyed doing. But, my family is amazing in that they stand behind me no matter what. It’s always been like that. My husband [of 10 years] was amazing as a support. And of course my son. I told him that I wasn’t going to be Melanie on “The Good Night Show� anymore and he said, “OK.� [Laughs] It’s just another day. All of my acting jobs have always ended. I’ve never been fired. But they’ve always ended and I’ve always gone on to do other things. So, that was really the only difference: that I was fired and it was so public. But, I’ve gone on to do other roles, just like I always have.
What are your hopes now for the future? Do you still want to continue acting?
Oh, yeah, I’m an actor. This is what I do. It’s what I’ve done for years. I’m 34 and I’ve been doing this for a long time; since I was in my early teens. This is my livelihood. And I’ve done everything. I narrate audio books. I do print work. I do commercial work. I do television and stage work. It doesn’t change anything.
What advice do you have for young actors coming out now after all this?
My advice is to work hard, and to know that you really want to be in this business. There’s a lot of rejection and there’s a lot of positive things that come out of it. Know that this is what you really want to do, and that you are in this business for the long haul. Not just to become famous or be a name.
And that’s always been my joy. I have a theater background and I never went into this to be a recognizable name. I never went into this to be famous. I would just as soon be on a stage downtown than on a television or a movie screen. So, I think when you have that background, when you have that kind of training, you’re better suited to the rejection that happens. [Laughs] Not to have any training at all, and not know what acting is or what it’s about or that it’s a craft, can be dangerous for young actors Especially with TV and film, you’re just a cog in the machine. It’s not about you. [Laughs]
If PBS approached you with an acting job that was not children’s related, would you do it?
Depending on what it was, maybe. I don’t think I burned any bridges, that’s for sure. I’ve always been professional. It was a role that was no longer for me. [Laughs] And I think if they came and asked me if I would be interested in doing something else, it would be like anybody else asking me if I would be in something else. It would depend on what the role was.
I’m not mad at them. I never was mad at them. I was upset with the situation. But I never had a bad word to say about the people who hired me and the people that I worked with for two seasons, almost a year. It really was the most amazing crew and cast and directors. Everyone involved was really top notch, and I’ve never been in that situation before where there wasn’t a weak link. That’s what made it all the more one of the best jobs to do. [Laughs] There is always a weak link somewhere, and I guess that would be me, [Laughs] in some people’s opinions. But I think my fans would beg to differ on that. I have definitely received a lot of love from my fans, and it was shocking how supportive everybody was. I guess that’s one of my biggest regrets, I was never able to say a proper good bye to my fans. The little ones. If anything were to be done differently, I would have liked to have been given the chance to have done that.
I wonder what parents told their kids.
Maybe the same thing that I told mine.
Do you think the political climate affected the decision to fire you? Do you think if we had a different administration in office, you would have had this problem on your hands?
I definitely think it was a political issue. Yes. Has the political climate changed? Sure. We are living in a very different, fearful world. Although, seven years later after making a spoof on the subject matter, it’s still a timely one and one that can rile people up today. I don’t believe that it was anything else.
No respect for satire?
[Laughs] No respect! [Laughs]
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Yay! Thank you for doing this interview!
I don't even get Sprout, but I was so pissed off at how PBS treated Melanie, I wrote them twice.
And I love hearing that she's not ashamed of her earlier works. Why should she be? What the heck is wrong with our culture, that we expect people who work with children to somehow not have adult thoughts and opinions?
I wish Melanie all the best in her future endeavors, and I'm glad she's speaking about what happened.
That's a good interview. I'm apalled that PBS would do that to someone.
I'm curious, do you think they were more offended by the "adult theme", or by the fact that she was making fun of abstinence-only videos specifically?
The next time PBS has a fund raising drive, you know what to do! This is how the "other side" handles these things, right? We can speak with our wallets too.
I'm with you, Thorn. My daughter is too old for Sprout and my son is too young, but I still made a point to write PBS and express my outrage. And I'll be following Jane Minty's advise when it comes time for the next fundraising drive.
It is completely insane. She made a movie with mature themes that was intended for and marketed to a mature audience. Her participation in that film had absolutely nothing to do with her role for Sprout. Any normal person would be able to see this.
As if that wasn't bad enough, I get the impression from the interview that she was not able to do a farewell show for the children. That makes me more angry than anything because it shows a complete lack of consideration for the children. No doubt that many of them came to see her as an important part of their daily routines, and to not offer any opportunity to hear her say goodboye probably caused a great deal of confusion and sadness.
i still have four interviews to catch up on. i hear it's another great interview. thank you, celina.
:) She has a kickassed attitude about the whole situation. Brava for her! I'm glad the whole hullabaloo did not affect the strength of her career or her spirit. I'm also glad she regained control of her situation.
“The next time PBS has a fund raising drive, you know what to do! This is how the "other side" handles these things, right? We can speak with our wallets too.� – Jane Minty
I agree that PBS shouldn’t have fired her over this, but I’m not sure withholding money is the way to go. If I am not mistaken, PBS is usually a very liberal organization. I cannot believe they would have done this without heavy monetary pressure coming from right wingers (probably not because of the sexual themes, but because of the anti abstinence only stance of the videos). Does PBS receive government grants? Is it possible that is where the pressure came from? I wouldn’t put it passed them. Right wingers have been more than willing to cut funding to other organizations that didn’t toe the abstinence only line.
By withholding your money you are punishing an organization that has traditionally been a friend to liberals while making them even more dependant on the same groups which forced them to make this move in the first place.
You all are right to be mad, but you're aim is a little off. It's not so much PBS that fired Melanie, but rather a gaggle of ABC/Disney creeps posing as PBS tweedheads, with a lotta likely help from Comcast. Let me explain:
Sprout is a PBS entity in name only, in that PBS only owns about 15% of it. In reality, it is largely a Comcast baby, with 40% owned by that company.
Another 30% is controlled by a private entity called HIT Entertainment -- a spinoff of some old Jim Henson Enterprises stuff that is known for producing kidtripe like Bob the Builder, the Wiggles, and other like-minded stuff ... and is also bound up in some weird, incestuous corporate relationship with the Disney people.
Another 15% goes to the Sesame Street people (I think) -- leaving only the last 15% for PBS proper to lick up off the floor. That's hardly enough for any real say in the network's doings. In fact, from some of the articles I read detailing the startup of PBS Sprout, it's made pretty damn clear that Comcast is wearing the codpiece in the relationship.
I'd say PBS was invited to the party for the kid-friendly, selflessly educational brand recognition that it brings to the punchbowl. Nothing more.
The Chief Head Suited Dork of Sprout, Sandy White, came over directly from ABC/Disney. There, she was a Chief Vice President of some such crap, involved somehow with scheduling, acquisitions and other such blahblahblah for Playhouse Disney.
Andrew Beecham, the current Vice Secondary Suited Dork of Sprout (who I'd guess had a major role in the firing -- see below) was until recently a Major Suited Dork at the above-mentioned HIT Entertainment -- although prior to that he, too, was a loooongtime stooge for Playhouse Disney, where he was Director for that channel's "Worldwide Programming Strategy Group."
Here's a link to a PR Newswire story that points out, among other things, the role Beecham had in setting up Sprout's "programming policies and on-air presentation." If any single jerk is responsible for pulling the trigger on Melanie, it's probably him.
So: PBS hawked it's soul to these people, and we should throw 'em under the trolley for that. But don't forget to save a couple of rounds of ire for Comcast, HIT, and Sprout proper, if you want to make your rancor count for anything.
Wow, that's quite a litany. PBS and NPR were also taken over by Republicans last year which is probably why I no longer enjoy NPR.
That was a great interview! My daughter loved The Goodnight Show until Melanie got fired. We no longer watch it, and Mama has written letters to both PBS and Comcast in protest.
The whole way the PBSKids handled the situation was repulsive. One day she was there, and the next day she was just...gone. Not the way you handle something for their target audience, in my opinion.
I wish Ms. Martinez and her family all the best. Maybe her next job will do better by her.
Thank you for the interview. Melanie's departure from Sprout was disturbing and very unfair. My 3 year old son really is a big fan, and misses her very much. She has made a great difference in the lives of children and has been a positive influence.
I only hope that Melanie returns to children's television. In my opinion, she has the potential to be the next "Mr. Rodgers".
If you haven't already, please sign the online petition at:
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/melaniemartinez
Melanie was the greatest! She was all my daughter talked about and it made getting her to bed much easier. The show catered to 3 and 5 year olds. I think it would have been quite some time before my daughter would have been able to find either of those video shorts and I'm quite sure at that point, she would have understood satire. Leo, the new host is HORRIBLE. He should remain the disembodied voice behind the Bear in the Big Blue House and stay out of the public eye. How many times can we look at how to make a PINE CONE MAN? Lame, is the only way to describe it. I notice that PBS has no problem letting Little Richard sing "Rubber Ducky" despite his past. SHINE ON Melanie! We'll look for you when you return!!!
I have read a few interview articles of Mrs. Martinez and would like to compliment her on how graceful she has been in not being overly, publically definsive of PBS Sprout and their decision. The fact of the matter is that PBS Sprout hired her for a reason, and it was this reason why the public fell in love with Mrs. Martinez too. I believe that it was Melanie, and NOT an actress that made the show come alive. I thought that she genuinely cared about the children when singing her heart-felt songs, performing her arts/crafts, and it was just something about those cool, shiny, jeanie pants that made us all want to go to sleep. We will miss you Mrs. Martinez (and so will Sprout); and I know that I speak for my wife and daughter in wishing you the best of spiritual fortunes and life successes. "Goodnight... good-night... good--night."