After a week of reports that "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was sexist, bigoted and abusive, an original actor of the classic film has had enough.
Corrine Conley, who voiced the doll in the 1964 children's movie, said the flap about the bullying in the film misses the point.
» Christmas 2018: Doctors recommend kids play with empty boxes instead of high-tech toys
"Certainly in 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Red Deer' everyone is reconciled happily at the end of the movie," she told TMZ. "And let's hope in today's society the things people are bullying about can also be rectified."
Last week, Huffington Post tweeted a short video calling the show "seriously problematic" that captured film scenes and a round-up of Twitter reaction.
» A guide to Atlanta's merriest holiday events in December
The holiday TV classic "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" is seriously problematic. 😳 pic.twitter.com/dOgqPF3bAP
— HuffPost (@HuffPost) November 29, 2018
The school coach encourages bullying, a video caption reads:
One scene, for example, shows Rudolph's coach saying, "From now on, gang, we won't let Rudolph join in any reindeer games, right?"
» A Christmas tree allergy is nothing to sneeze at
Clarice's dad is a bigot, another video caption reads:
Clarice, the girl reindeer and Rudolph's crush, is forbidden from hanging out with him when her dad says, "Now there is one thing I want to make very plain: No doe of mine is going to be seen with a red-nosed reindeer."
Donner forbids his wife from joining the search for his son, another caption reads:
"No. This is man's work!" Sorry, Rudolph's mom. Doesn't the cave need sprucin' up?
Conley said sometimes people cry when they learn she was one of the voices in the film because it's touched so many people.
While the film DOES contain bullying — even Santa berates Rudolph's dad for something his son was simply born with — she says it all works out in the end. That, to her, is what matters.
"I just can't imagine it affecting anyone in a negative way. They must be like scrooge," she said. "Tell them to watch 'Scrooge.'"