It’s not exactly the usual fare for us, but anything that involves a national public broadcaster, puppets, and an apology is simply irresistible. From a story in the Globe And Mail:
CBC has learned the hard way not to mess with puppets, and yesterday officially apologized to Rusty the Rooster and Jerome the Giraffe.
The Homme family removed the beloved puppets – stars of deceased creator Bob Homme’s hit show The Friendly Giant – from the CBC Museum yesterday after the broadcaster used the characters in a recent Gemini Awards skit without the family’s permission.
Jeff Keay, spokesman for the public broadcaster, said “we have apologized to members of the Homme family for not getting their permission to use The Friendly Giant puppets … and we sincerely regret they feel any trust was breached.”
Ann Homme, a daughter of Bob, said in a recent e-mail to The Globe and Mail that the Gemini infraction was “the last straw.”
“Until recently, we were contacted by the people at the CBC museum, where the puppets are on loan, by a very conscientious woman who seemed to guard the Friendly Giant display with her life,” Ms. Homme wrote. “Recently, she was let go, and replaced by someone who seems to think our permission is unnecessary. Needless to say, I am going to remove the Friendly Giant props and puppets as soon as possible.”
