Thursday February 11 2:56 AM ET
Teletubbies' Tinky Winky 'Outed' By Falwell
By Patricia Wilson
The largest of the four amorphous characters on the British-made children's television show has been ``outed'' by the conservative religious leader Rev. Jerry Falwell.
Against a backdrop of cries of ``sexual McCarthyism'' over the exposure and pursuit of Clinton, members of Congress and others for inappropriate amorous exploits, Falwell unmasked Tinky Winky in the current issue of his monthly magazine ''National Liberty Journal.''
``The character, whose voice is obviously that of a boy, has been found carrying a red purse in many episodes and has become a favorite character among gay groups worldwide,'' it said.
Further evidence cited included the fact that the androgynous Tinky Winky is purple -- the gay pride color, and the antenna on his head is shaped like a triangle -- the gay pride symbol.
``These subtle depictions are no doubt intentional, and parents are warned to be alert to these elements of the series,'' the magazine said.
Falwell did not address the sexual proclivities of La La, Po and Dipsy who are equally shapeless yellow, red and green characters with squiggly antennae and television screens set into their tummies.
They all live in a kind of high-tech igloo with a bug-eyed vacuum cleaner, surrounded by grass, rabbits and flowers. At the end of each episode, a periscope rises from the ground and summons them to bed with ``Time for Tubby bye-bye.''
The show premiered in Britain in 1997 and came to the United States last year where it has been a hit for PBS. Teletubbies interactive dolls are set to go on the market sometime next month.
Falwell's magazine said Tinky Winky's sexuality had been the subject of debate for some time, pointing to the annual ``What's In and What's Out'' list in the Washington Post.
The magazine said that this year, Tinky Winky's photograph appeared opposite that of actress Ellen DeGeneres, implying that DeGeneres, star of the canceled sitcom ``Ellen,'' was ``out'' as the chief national gay symbol, while Tinky Winky was the trendy ``in'' celebrity.
Laurie Fry, director of broadcast promotion at PBS, called the insinuations ``mindboggling.''
``He's supposed to be a toddler, this is a children's show for goodness sake,'' she said.
And that red purse? ``It's Tinky Winky's magic bag, he pulls all kinds of things out of it,'' Fry said.
Source: Yahoo News
