Today show accused of child cruelty after lie detector stunt makes six-year-old girl cry
Nine’s Today Show has been hit by a viewer backlash after putting children through a fake lie detector test which saw a six-year-old girl reduced to tears and others told they were lying when they said they liked pre-school.
The segment featured Weekend Today presenter Deb Knight quizzing children as young as five on whether they had been naughty or nice.
Knight persuaded one girl to admit that she had said a “bad word” and invited her to repeat the phrase, which was bleeped. The girl then started to cry.
Each time a child said they did enjoy going to kindergarden, the lie detector unit – actually a metal colander decorated with flashing lights – buzzed to say they were lying.
The segment ended with Knight, who is expecting her third child in February, hugging the crying girl.
Angry viewers on the show’s Facebook page accused Today of “child abuse” and “demeaning” the children.
Several comments – including one accusing the show of “psychological bullying” – appear to have since been deleted from the show’s page.
The segment was based on one created by US late night host Jimmy Kimmel two years ago, although the children were not reduced to tears in that version.
Nine has been approached for comment but had not responded at the time of publication.
Tim Burrowes
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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Making a little girl cry five days out from Christmas all in the name of (tacky) journalism?. You idiots!
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What a tacky, heartless stunt. [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy]
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A poorly executed rip off of a clever, funny and endearing Jimmy Kimmel skit.
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Honestly, are they this desperate?
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A typical stunt from a mindless show for mindless people.
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Nine.
Have you sacked the producer?
Absolute disgrace
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a fairly good representation of the standards of commercial tv.
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It was disgraceful!
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Oh for goodness sake it’s character building-I am a former educator and trust me -there will be no lasting damage in all four areas of development,in fact when they grow up they will relish in watching the clip! Life is full of stress and upset! the level of this stress was very minimal As a parent you should always be mindful of what child you put forward for what activities-maybe the shy one in the family should be considered not to participate. Apart from that – I don’t see the issue
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I like children. But I could never eat a whole one.
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Feel more sorry for whoever decided to do this – it worked in the US. The kid will get over it – for god’s sake, but somemone at the Channel will feel like crap. Whoever you are, don’t. Everyone knows comedy comes with risk. Forget it, take more risks next year, and have a great Christmas.
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[quote] “It’s character building” [unquote] Says a self confessed former educator, who then goes on to predict the future with assurance.
What of the present? television people, hungry for ratings, have applied pressure to little children for reasons of entertainment.
Yes, life is tough, and there are many disappointments and obstacles along the way, but deliberately placing the obstacles, and knowingly producing anxiety, is another matter. when children invite adults into their fantasy world, it is a wonderful opportunity for mutually enjoyable experiences. When adults manipulate reality and trick children into a belief strategy, the game becomes very different indeed.
Engaging in theatre, or any form of manipulated reality with children is a very delicate exercise, requiring a watchful eye, and a reliable disarming, or escape mechanism. I am not an educator, but I was for many years involved with children’s theatre, and I know how easily some children can become confused about the line dividing fantasy from reality.
ironically, actors are frequently accused of blurring the line between fantasy and reality, usually by those who consider themselves to be profoundly pragmatic.
The truth is that actors (good actors) are glowingly aware of this line; such knowledge is essential to the process of good performance, which is always an appearance of truth, not actual truth.
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