The Knot opens wedding registry for Alabama LGBT couples after ‘Arthur’ controversy

The Knot launched a fundraiser wedding registry for LGBT couples in Alabama this week after the state’s public television channel refused to air an episode of the PBS show “Arthur” because it featured a gay wedding.

The wedding website wrote on Instagram that it was teaming up with Wedding Wire to “celebrate all couples and their special someones.”{mosads}

“We’ve created a charity wedding registry to benefit all couples and members of the LGBTQ+ communities in Alabama, which has banned the season 22 premiere episode of #Arthur,” the brand wrote.

All proceeds from the Crowdrise fundraiser will go to Equality Alabama, a statewide LGBTQ advocacy nonprofit.

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In honor of Mr. Ratburn and Patrick, our teams at @theknot and @weddingwire want to celebrate all couples and their special someones. We've created a charity wedding registry to benefit all couples and members of the LGBTQ+ communities in Alabama, which has banned the season 22 premiere episode of #Arthur. 100% of the proceeds will be donated to @equalityalabama with hopes to protect and defend their civil rights. Head to the #linkinbio to donate. ❤️ (And as a reminder, both The Knot and WeddingWire do not tolerate discrimination of any kind on our platforms.) #theknot #weddingwire #loveislove #opentoall

A post shared by The Knot (@theknot) on May 21, 2019 at 1:35pm PDT

More than $5,700 of the $10,000 goal had been raised as of Friday afternoon.

The fundraiser comes after Alabama Public Television (APT) refused to air an episode of the hit children’s cartoon depicting Arthur’s third grade teacher Mr. Ratburn coming out as gay and getting married.

Mike Mckenzie, director of programming at APT, said the channel was notified by WGBH and PBS in mid-April about the episode entitled “Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone” and decided to show a re-run instead of the episode, according to AL.com.

Mckenzie told the outlet that APT has no plans to air the episode at a later date.

“Parents have trusted Alabama Public Television for more than 50 years to provide children’s programs that entertain, educate and inspire,” Mckenzie said in an email.

“More importantly — although we strongly encourage parents to watch television with their children and talk about what they have learned afterwards – parents trust that their children can watch APT without their supervision. We also know that children who are younger than the ‘target’ audience for Arthur also watch the program.”