CBS and The Price Is Right are under fire after a nearly US$100,000 donation was made to non-profit reproductive and sexual health organization Planned Parenthood during an episode that aired on Monday night.
Serving as a special guest contestant, RuPaul Charles, Emmy Award-winning host of RuPaul’s Drag Race, made a one-off appearance on the beloved game show, which is under the wing of longtime host Drew Carey.
In typical Price Is Right tradition — where celebrity guests often match contestants’ winnings with a charity donation — the 59-year-old drag queen pledged to donate exactly $97,266 to Planned Parenthood.
Planned Parenthood, whose affiliates operate 400 clinics across the U.S., provides family planning and abortion services, among others.
In response to RuPaul’s donation, a number of anti-abortion Price Is Right fans took to social media to vent their anger at the show and its hosting network for supporting the organization.
Many anti-abortion commenters even threatened CBS, claiming they would stop watching the show after learning of RuPaul’s donation.
“You’ve lost a lifelong fan,” one viewer wrote in a tweet.
Here’s what some other upset fans of the show had to say on Twitter:
“Great, you gave a pile of money to baby killers,” one viewer wrote directly to The Price Is Right. “Isn’t that special.”
On the other hand, many commended RuPaul for his donation and took his side in supporting the American health-care organization.
“I can’t believe people are complaining about The Price Is Right matching winnings on the show to donate to Planned Parenthood,” tweeted one user. “They provide much-needed, inexpensive birth control options and counselling.
“No one WANTS to have an abortion. But when we vote for people who restrict … access to birth control methods as a first line of defence before abortion and refuse to support the babies that are born as a result, then these scared women can’t be judged for having safe abortions.”
During the episode, RuPaul praised Planned Parenthood, saying he chose the foundation because it provides “vital and often free services to both men and women.”
As of this writing, the popular TV host has not publicly addressed the backlash.
— With files from the Associated Press
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