1 00:00:07,717 --> 00:00:10,553 (VCR tape clacking) 2 00:00:20,313 --> 00:00:23,232 (TV static) 3 00:00:23,274 --> 00:00:26,277 (garage door whirring) 4 00:00:32,450 --> 00:00:34,702 (exhaling loudly) 5 00:00:34,744 --> 00:00:38,581 (laughing) (dramatic music) 6 00:00:38,623 --> 00:00:40,875 - 10 years of my life. 7 00:00:43,836 --> 00:00:45,505 - [Interviewer] When you guys worked on the show, 8 00:00:45,546 --> 00:00:47,632 did you guys ever hear some of the urban legends 9 00:00:47,673 --> 00:00:49,342 or the rumors of Barney? 10 00:00:51,260 --> 00:00:52,428 (laughing nervously) 11 00:00:52,470 --> 00:00:53,596 - Like which one? 12 00:00:53,638 --> 00:00:55,848 - Barney hides drugs in his tail. 13 00:00:55,890 --> 00:00:57,934 - When he wasn't filming, he'd go and, you know, 14 00:00:57,975 --> 00:00:59,602 do some lines of coke or something. 15 00:00:59,644 --> 00:01:02,230 - He hung himself in his suit. 16 00:01:02,271 --> 00:01:03,856 - My mom called me once crying and I was like, 17 00:01:03,898 --> 00:01:05,525 mom, what's going on? 18 00:01:05,566 --> 00:01:07,693 She's like, "Baby, I just heard you committed suicide." 19 00:01:09,404 --> 00:01:10,196 (dinosaur laughing) 20 00:01:10,238 --> 00:01:13,241 - Barney was a predator. 21 00:01:13,282 --> 00:01:15,576 - I absolutely love children! 22 00:01:15,618 --> 00:01:18,329 - Barney was the anti-Christ. 23 00:01:19,664 --> 00:01:21,332 - [Man] When you played the song backwards, 24 00:01:21,374 --> 00:01:23,543 it had some kind of crazy meaning to it. 25 00:01:24,794 --> 00:01:27,588 - [Man] Barney has become the leader of a children's cult. 26 00:01:27,630 --> 00:01:30,925 - Most programs began with a kind of seance 27 00:01:30,967 --> 00:01:32,802 in which they conjure up Barney. 28 00:01:32,844 --> 00:01:34,637 - [All] Barney! 29 00:01:34,679 --> 00:01:37,890 - I can't tell you how far from the truth this is. 30 00:01:37,932 --> 00:01:40,852 - Barney's so impossibly wholesome. 31 00:01:42,270 --> 00:01:45,314 There is that desire to pop the balloon. 32 00:01:45,356 --> 00:01:47,650 - For the Barney kids and a lot of people 33 00:01:47,692 --> 00:01:49,652 that were connected to the show, 34 00:01:49,694 --> 00:01:51,612 they were in for some dark times, 35 00:01:51,654 --> 00:01:53,656 especially Sheryl's son, Patrick. 36 00:01:53,698 --> 00:01:54,574 - [Woman] Sheryl Leach created Barney 37 00:01:54,615 --> 00:01:56,701 just as a friend for her son. 38 00:01:56,743 --> 00:01:58,369 (helicopter whirring) (sirens blaring) 39 00:01:58,411 --> 00:01:59,996 - [Man] I heard the victim yell, "Hey, I'm shot." 40 00:02:00,037 --> 00:02:02,373 - It's like stranger than fiction. 41 00:02:02,415 --> 00:02:04,709 - [Interviewer] What happened to Patrick? 42 00:02:04,751 --> 00:02:06,502 - How he ends up the way he did? 43 00:02:06,544 --> 00:02:08,713 I don't know. I think it could happen to anybody. 44 00:02:09,589 --> 00:02:11,299 (TV static) 45 00:02:11,340 --> 00:02:12,925 - [Interviewer] So, what are you gonna be able to say now 46 00:02:12,967 --> 00:02:15,720 about Patrick that's different than before? 47 00:02:16,637 --> 00:02:18,973 (TV static) 48 00:02:27,940 --> 00:02:30,693 So, you felt like there was more to tell? 49 00:02:30,735 --> 00:02:33,654 - Yes. I think there is more to tell 50 00:02:33,696 --> 00:02:35,573 and I just felt uncomfortable because 51 00:02:35,615 --> 00:02:38,993 I didn't want to say anything that would 52 00:02:39,035 --> 00:02:42,497 just misrepresent the situation. 53 00:02:42,538 --> 00:02:44,665 I've had more time to think about Patrick, 54 00:02:44,707 --> 00:02:46,667 and I just realized that I could be honest 55 00:02:46,709 --> 00:02:49,921 and I can tell you what happened without it being unkind. 56 00:02:51,589 --> 00:02:55,843 Sheryl is so kindhearted that it would just be horrible 57 00:02:56,969 --> 00:03:00,431 to say something that would hurt her. 58 00:03:00,473 --> 00:03:04,852 But I wasn't super surprised that Patrick 59 00:03:04,894 --> 00:03:06,771 had gotten in and out of some trouble. 60 00:03:07,897 --> 00:03:12,318 Patrick was just a super active little boy 61 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:15,571 that would kind of test his limits. 62 00:03:16,823 --> 00:03:19,575 If someone says don't run with a glass in your hand, 63 00:03:19,617 --> 00:03:21,744 he was kind of more of a "what if." 64 00:03:21,786 --> 00:03:23,788 But what if I did it? 65 00:03:23,830 --> 00:03:26,457 You can tell him, don't do it, like on the playground 66 00:03:26,499 --> 00:03:29,752 and then they're gonna do it and run and chip their tooth. 67 00:03:29,794 --> 00:03:32,880 That was kind of the boy that he was. 68 00:03:34,549 --> 00:03:37,051 - There were a lot of factors making life tough for Patrick. 69 00:03:37,093 --> 00:03:39,011 When you have something like Barney 70 00:03:39,053 --> 00:03:41,097 and it becomes a runaway success, 71 00:03:41,139 --> 00:03:43,766 that has gotta come with a cost. 72 00:03:43,808 --> 00:03:44,976 - I feel like the success of Barney 73 00:03:45,017 --> 00:03:48,396 probably did change the family dynamics. 74 00:03:48,438 --> 00:03:51,023 Sheryl wasn't around as much because she was working. 75 00:03:52,942 --> 00:03:56,320 Once Barney became big, there were a lot of people 76 00:03:56,362 --> 00:03:58,656 that felt very, very strongly they loved it 77 00:03:58,698 --> 00:04:00,825 and a lot of people that didn't love it. 78 00:04:00,867 --> 00:04:02,785 When I babysat for Patrick, 79 00:04:02,827 --> 00:04:06,914 I did get the feeling that Sheryl was concerned. 80 00:04:06,956 --> 00:04:11,461 She did make it clear, just don't let him out of your sight 81 00:04:11,502 --> 00:04:14,005 because of the level of hatred towards Barney. 82 00:04:15,923 --> 00:04:18,134 (TV static) 83 00:04:18,176 --> 00:04:21,012 - In a Galveston, Texas, K-mart, three boys, 84 00:04:21,054 --> 00:04:25,475 age, 10, 11, and 12, attacked a man dressed up as Barney. 85 00:04:25,516 --> 00:04:27,351 They punched Barney and tried to tear off 86 00:04:27,393 --> 00:04:28,811 the dinosaur's head and-- 87 00:04:28,853 --> 00:04:30,646 - [Man] And a college student arrested 88 00:04:30,688 --> 00:04:33,483 for assault and battery of Barney. 89 00:04:33,524 --> 00:04:35,735 - Barney bashing got to a point where it got 90 00:04:35,777 --> 00:04:38,821 bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger. 91 00:04:38,863 --> 00:04:41,824 - Well, top 10 things that will get you on the evening news. 92 00:04:41,866 --> 00:04:43,868 At number two, beat the crap out of Barney 93 00:04:43,910 --> 00:04:45,078 in a Texas shopping mall. 94 00:04:45,119 --> 00:04:49,415 (audience cheering and laughing) 95 00:04:51,501 --> 00:04:54,045 - As music director on Barney, the first time 96 00:04:54,087 --> 00:04:58,132 I really heard about Barney bashing was when I was 97 00:04:58,174 --> 00:05:01,844 nominated for a Grammy and I was interviewed 98 00:05:01,886 --> 00:05:03,429 by a local radio station. 99 00:05:05,556 --> 00:05:10,478 And phone calls came in and there were people saying, 100 00:05:11,145 --> 00:05:14,440 his music drives me crazy. 101 00:05:15,858 --> 00:05:19,862 Man, I'd just love to get my fingers around that guy's neck. 102 00:05:20,863 --> 00:05:23,699 I was surprised that they felt like 103 00:05:23,741 --> 00:05:25,910 they wanted to do me physical harm. 104 00:05:27,829 --> 00:05:30,623 And that wasn't just one or two phone calls. 105 00:05:30,665 --> 00:05:32,542 I mean, there was more than that. 106 00:05:32,583 --> 00:05:35,962 And it got to the point where I, you know, 107 00:05:36,003 --> 00:05:39,424 back in the good old days, I unlisted my phone number. 108 00:05:39,465 --> 00:05:44,470 I was in fear and I got actual death 109 00:05:45,596 --> 00:05:48,891 and dismemberment-of-my-family emails. 110 00:05:48,933 --> 00:05:50,518 I really don't wanna revisit that. 111 00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:52,478 That was a terrible time. 112 00:05:53,730 --> 00:05:55,440 It hurt so bad. 113 00:05:58,484 --> 00:06:00,528 (fanfare) 114 00:06:00,570 --> 00:06:02,905 - [Announcer] On your mark, get set. 115 00:06:02,947 --> 00:06:05,575 We're writing on the internet. 116 00:06:05,616 --> 00:06:07,869 - Email. I heard that's really neat. 117 00:06:07,910 --> 00:06:09,620 (internet dialing up) 118 00:06:09,662 --> 00:06:12,999 - My email address on AOL somehow got out 119 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:15,710 into the directories of K through 12 schools 120 00:06:15,752 --> 00:06:17,045 across the country. 121 00:06:17,086 --> 00:06:18,796 And I started getting emails. 122 00:06:18,838 --> 00:06:19,964 - [Computer] You've got mail. 123 00:06:20,006 --> 00:06:22,550 - From middle school kids, especially. 124 00:06:22,592 --> 00:06:24,135 And some of them were very nice 125 00:06:24,177 --> 00:06:26,971 and some of them were absolutely hateful. 126 00:06:29,140 --> 00:06:32,602 They were very explicit and very violent. 127 00:06:33,978 --> 00:06:36,689 There was one email that asked, 128 00:06:37,815 --> 00:06:41,027 "Are you the Barney that I stabbed 129 00:06:41,069 --> 00:06:43,821 "and shot outside of new Orleans?" 130 00:06:46,866 --> 00:06:49,118 And then they went on to say, you know, 131 00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:51,037 they were going to come and find me 132 00:06:51,079 --> 00:06:52,872 and they were going to kill me. 133 00:06:52,914 --> 00:06:55,708 (ravens cawing) 134 00:06:56,834 --> 00:06:59,879 And the ravens are, it's an omen. 135 00:06:59,921 --> 00:07:01,964 Virtually all the kids who were writing to me 136 00:07:02,006 --> 00:07:03,174 were in middle school. 137 00:07:04,884 --> 00:07:08,805 Just the thought that a child has this idea 138 00:07:08,846 --> 00:07:11,974 to write to someone that they don't know 139 00:07:12,016 --> 00:07:15,269 and to threaten their life, it makes you wonder 140 00:07:15,311 --> 00:07:17,647 what the motivation is for that 141 00:07:17,688 --> 00:07:20,525 and where the emotion for that came from 142 00:07:21,901 --> 00:07:24,821 because it's just really disturbing. 143 00:07:24,862 --> 00:07:27,615 But I think it also has to do with peer pressure. 144 00:07:27,657 --> 00:07:29,158 (laughing) 145 00:07:29,200 --> 00:07:32,620 Their friends say, you know, you have to hate this character 146 00:07:32,662 --> 00:07:33,996 because it's just not cool. 147 00:07:34,038 --> 00:07:35,706 - Well, then you have to watch all these like, 148 00:07:35,748 --> 00:07:38,543 Barney videos and stuff, so you don't get to watch 149 00:07:38,584 --> 00:07:41,129 any cool TV for like, years or something. 150 00:07:41,170 --> 00:07:44,298 - Whoa, (chuckling) having babies sucks. 151 00:07:44,340 --> 00:07:45,925 (chuckling) 152 00:07:45,967 --> 00:07:47,969 - I think we have to examine ourselves and say, 153 00:07:48,010 --> 00:07:51,013 why do kids do that? 154 00:07:51,055 --> 00:07:54,684 - [Anchorman] Our local Care 11 TV Station ran an experiment 155 00:07:54,726 --> 00:07:56,686 to see if kids reacted differently 156 00:07:56,728 --> 00:07:59,689 as they watched different kinds of programming. 157 00:07:59,731 --> 00:08:02,150 - [Reporter] On the first day, we had the kids watch Barney. 158 00:08:02,191 --> 00:08:05,194 * Q, R, S, T, U, V * 159 00:08:05,236 --> 00:08:10,241 - I could hear in my head advertisements for some kind of, 160 00:08:11,409 --> 00:08:12,994 you know, action toy or something. 161 00:08:13,035 --> 00:08:14,871 And it's always the mean read. (speaking in deep voice) 162 00:08:14,912 --> 00:08:19,083 You know, now get this action pack and watch things happen. 163 00:08:19,125 --> 00:08:23,671 You know, this kind of, you know, let's be bad, 164 00:08:23,713 --> 00:08:28,718 let's be tough, let's be really, really strong and macho. 165 00:08:29,927 --> 00:08:31,137 - [Reporter] On day two, it's the Power Rangers, 166 00:08:31,179 --> 00:08:33,806 the popular teeny-bopper superheroes doing good 167 00:08:33,848 --> 00:08:36,768 by beating the living daylights out of anyone doing bad. 168 00:08:38,061 --> 00:08:39,687 Here are the kids with Barney. 169 00:08:39,729 --> 00:08:41,230 * Yankee Doodle went to town * 170 00:08:41,272 --> 00:08:43,107 - [Reporter] And here are the kids with the Power Rangers. 171 00:08:43,149 --> 00:08:45,860 - I'm Power Ranger! - Joseph! 172 00:08:45,902 --> 00:08:48,696 (kids tussling) 173 00:08:48,738 --> 00:08:52,742 - That's coming at these kids and we say, 174 00:08:52,784 --> 00:08:53,993 this is how you can be cool. 175 00:08:54,035 --> 00:08:56,079 It's advertisements. 176 00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:57,288 It's really everywhere. 177 00:09:00,374 --> 00:09:05,380 (video game blasting) (dramatic music) 178 00:09:12,470 --> 00:09:16,099 - I have never particularly thought of myself as a nice guy 179 00:09:16,140 --> 00:09:18,726 because I don't really act very nice. 180 00:09:18,768 --> 00:09:22,021 I am abrasive. I am rude, I am loud. 181 00:09:22,063 --> 00:09:23,314 So once we had the internet, 182 00:09:23,356 --> 00:09:25,942 I just sort of jumped immediately in. 183 00:09:27,068 --> 00:09:28,778 - [Anchorman] No surprise, the web is a haven 184 00:09:28,820 --> 00:09:30,655 for these anti-Barney activists. 185 00:09:30,696 --> 00:09:32,448 - Warning: Parents with three year olds are advised 186 00:09:32,490 --> 00:09:34,826 to cover those innocent little eyes. 187 00:09:37,954 --> 00:09:41,332 - My name is Sean Breen under the handle of 188 00:09:41,374 --> 00:09:43,126 Malaclypse the Seeker. 189 00:09:43,167 --> 00:09:47,130 I was a member of and the last leader of 190 00:09:47,171 --> 00:09:50,842 the Jihad to Destroy Barney the Purple Dinosaur. 191 00:09:50,883 --> 00:09:54,178 (contemplative instrumental music) 192 00:09:54,220 --> 00:09:57,306 I was just ending my sophomore year of high school 193 00:09:57,348 --> 00:10:01,102 and I found the Jihad to Destroy Barney 194 00:10:01,144 --> 00:10:04,063 on the worldwide web, the original webpage. 195 00:10:05,356 --> 00:10:09,068 In 1994, that webpage was one of the first 196 00:10:09,110 --> 00:10:12,196 10 to 15,000 webpages ever. 197 00:10:13,489 --> 00:10:18,327 It was alt.Barney.dinosaur.die.die.die. 198 00:10:18,369 --> 00:10:20,329 - Jihad was a movement started by 199 00:10:20,371 --> 00:10:22,707 a group of college students who found Barney 200 00:10:22,749 --> 00:10:25,168 to be extraordinarily annoying. 201 00:10:25,209 --> 00:10:28,713 - It was a heady experience in a lot of ways. 202 00:10:28,755 --> 00:10:32,925 And, and hang on a second. 203 00:10:35,053 --> 00:10:36,304 I think the phone's vibrating. 204 00:10:38,222 --> 00:10:39,140 Oh, spam call. 205 00:10:39,182 --> 00:10:40,183 (Bleep) you. 206 00:10:40,224 --> 00:10:41,476 Okay. Sorry. 207 00:10:41,517 --> 00:10:43,227 Where was I? Right. Early internet. 208 00:10:45,063 --> 00:10:47,356 The Jihad to Destroy Barney the Purple Dinosaur 209 00:10:47,398 --> 00:10:50,860 is a collaborative role play session 210 00:10:50,902 --> 00:10:55,782 where we were super soldiers fighting a shadow war 211 00:10:56,449 --> 00:10:57,408 against Barney the Dinosaur. 212 00:11:00,369 --> 00:11:04,373 This is the Jihad to Destroy Barney Role Playing Game 213 00:11:04,415 --> 00:11:06,125 and Writer's Guide. 214 00:11:06,167 --> 00:11:07,210 - Oh, look at this. 215 00:11:07,251 --> 00:11:08,836 This is awesome. 216 00:11:08,878 --> 00:11:10,463 Okay, here come the readers. 217 00:11:13,132 --> 00:11:15,802 (laughing) This. 218 00:11:19,263 --> 00:11:22,225 The Hellwyrm Barney. 219 00:11:22,266 --> 00:11:25,228 The Jihad's primary adversary, the top villain, 220 00:11:25,269 --> 00:11:29,816 the great demon, B'harne sits on a throne of skulls. 221 00:11:29,857 --> 00:11:31,818 - Some call him a minion of Satan. 222 00:11:31,859 --> 00:11:33,236 Barney must be destroyed. 223 00:11:33,277 --> 00:11:35,279 All else is irrelevant. 224 00:11:37,115 --> 00:11:37,907 - Oh, my. 225 00:11:39,117 --> 00:11:40,243 - Our criticism of Barney was that 226 00:11:40,284 --> 00:11:44,205 it was all about conformity and consensus, 227 00:11:44,247 --> 00:11:49,210 and that's absolutely a very '90s attitude. 228 00:11:51,170 --> 00:11:54,132 On the internet, we were all rebels, you know, 229 00:11:54,173 --> 00:11:57,343 fighting against the stifling conformity of the normies. 230 00:11:58,928 --> 00:12:00,930 - At first, Sheryl didn't really care that much 231 00:12:00,972 --> 00:12:05,977 about Barney bashing, but at the point it got violent, 232 00:12:06,644 --> 00:12:07,812 that was kind of the last straw. 233 00:12:09,021 --> 00:12:11,607 - When the one baseball mascot beat up the guy 234 00:12:11,649 --> 00:12:16,821 in the Barney costume, there's a line that gets crossed. 235 00:12:17,864 --> 00:12:18,448 - [Interviewer] Right, go ahead. 236 00:12:18,489 --> 00:12:19,866 - Okay. 237 00:12:19,907 --> 00:12:22,535 I'm Ted Giannoulas, also known as the famous 238 00:12:22,577 --> 00:12:27,290 San Diego Chicken, and Barney filed a lawsuit against me 239 00:12:27,331 --> 00:12:30,877 because they thought that I was plum for the pickings. 240 00:12:31,544 --> 00:12:35,339 (quirky instrumental music) 241 00:12:35,381 --> 00:12:39,510 I'm in semi-retirement now, but I went pretty strong 242 00:12:39,552 --> 00:12:42,513 all over the world for about four decades. 243 00:12:44,348 --> 00:12:47,226 - [Reporter] When he is there, it normally means a sellout. 244 00:12:47,268 --> 00:12:50,146 It's a popularity that has caused his income to rise 245 00:12:50,188 --> 00:12:55,109 from $2 an hour to an estimated $400,000 a year. 246 00:12:56,402 --> 00:12:57,403 - [Ted] In live attendance, I've performed 247 00:12:57,445 --> 00:13:00,406 before more than 75 million people. 248 00:13:02,033 --> 00:13:03,201 - [Barry] Any thoughts on your next eight years? 249 00:13:03,242 --> 00:13:04,160 What are you after? 250 00:13:04,202 --> 00:13:05,411 - One really important thing. 251 00:13:05,453 --> 00:13:07,622 Can you get me a date with the NBC Peacock? 252 00:13:07,663 --> 00:13:10,249 - [Barry] Barry Bernson for NBC News, Chicago. 253 00:13:11,459 --> 00:13:14,337 - I was introduced to Barney via television, 254 00:13:14,379 --> 00:13:16,381 and I thought it was kind of cute. 255 00:13:16,422 --> 00:13:21,344 But as their character got more and more notoriety, 256 00:13:21,386 --> 00:13:24,347 I figured, oh, you know, I gotta work this into my act. 257 00:13:26,307 --> 00:13:29,310 So I decided to do a dance-off contest 258 00:13:29,352 --> 00:13:31,104 with Barney the Dinosaur. 259 00:13:31,145 --> 00:13:35,191 So here I am on the field doing my hip-hop dancing 260 00:13:35,233 --> 00:13:38,361 and then what comes out of the visiting team dug out 261 00:13:38,403 --> 00:13:40,238 but Barney the Dinosaur. 262 00:13:42,407 --> 00:13:44,909 In his little lollipop dancing for kids, 263 00:13:46,411 --> 00:13:50,581 and suddenly he breaks into this great break-dancing 264 00:13:50,623 --> 00:13:52,208 that puts me to shame. 265 00:13:59,674 --> 00:14:01,509 (crowd cheering) 266 00:14:01,551 --> 00:14:04,178 And now I'm ticked off as he dances away. 267 00:14:05,763 --> 00:14:08,433 This is my gig, this is my show. 268 00:14:08,474 --> 00:14:11,310 I run across the diamond and I gang tackle him. 269 00:14:12,603 --> 00:14:14,647 And then a little bit of remorse. 270 00:14:14,689 --> 00:14:16,107 I help him up. 271 00:14:16,149 --> 00:14:18,985 I dust him off and then he has a little accident 272 00:14:19,026 --> 00:14:20,278 going into the dugout. 273 00:14:21,362 --> 00:14:23,322 Sucker! 274 00:14:23,364 --> 00:14:24,407 You trusted me. 275 00:14:26,451 --> 00:14:29,328 I was just looking for a laugh, that's it. 276 00:14:29,370 --> 00:14:32,123 (crowd cheering) 277 00:14:34,584 --> 00:14:36,419 - And we finally said, we can't do this anymore. 278 00:14:36,461 --> 00:14:38,046 It's too much. 279 00:14:38,087 --> 00:14:41,424 - So, I remember Sheryl saying about the Barney bashing 280 00:14:41,466 --> 00:14:44,260 that, you know, it's like you bashing my child 281 00:14:44,302 --> 00:14:46,429 because this is, Barney is my child. 282 00:14:46,471 --> 00:14:51,100 - There are some times when things by adults undermine 283 00:14:51,142 --> 00:14:54,145 the role models that we have created for our children. 284 00:14:54,187 --> 00:14:56,189 I think that it does do damage. 285 00:14:57,482 --> 00:14:59,609 - We all wanted to protect Barney. 286 00:15:01,235 --> 00:15:04,363 A lot of what we were trying to protect wasn't just Barney, 287 00:15:04,405 --> 00:15:08,451 but the child that's now in love with Barney. 288 00:15:10,036 --> 00:15:13,206 (internet dialing up) 289 00:15:15,374 --> 00:15:18,127 - [Sean] December of 2000, we're all chilling 290 00:15:18,169 --> 00:15:21,255 and one of our members gets an email. 291 00:15:21,297 --> 00:15:23,049 - [Computer] You've got mail. 292 00:15:23,091 --> 00:15:26,010 - From a group of lawyers claiming to represent Barney 293 00:15:26,052 --> 00:15:29,138 and they said, you're diluting the trademark of Barney. 294 00:15:29,180 --> 00:15:31,808 - I'm sorry, but you must cease and desist. 295 00:15:31,849 --> 00:15:34,102 We have to do a lot of that. 296 00:15:34,143 --> 00:15:36,479 - So we freak the (bleep) out because 297 00:15:36,521 --> 00:15:39,148 we're all a bunch of college kids and teenagers 298 00:15:39,190 --> 00:15:40,691 and none of us have jobs. 299 00:15:40,733 --> 00:15:42,443 We can't afford to fight this. 300 00:15:44,404 --> 00:15:48,533 - I was doing the routine for about two years, I'd say, 301 00:15:48,574 --> 00:15:51,327 before I got the cease and desist letter 302 00:15:51,369 --> 00:15:53,037 from the Barney people. 303 00:15:53,079 --> 00:15:56,541 And so, I got in contact with Ken Fitzgerald. 304 00:15:57,792 --> 00:16:00,586 - He was worried because the company that owned Barney 305 00:16:00,628 --> 00:16:04,257 have very deep pockets and they were threatening to sue him 306 00:16:04,298 --> 00:16:06,467 for copyright infringement, 307 00:16:06,509 --> 00:16:09,470 but he wanted to fight for his right. 308 00:16:09,512 --> 00:16:13,057 - [Interviewer] Why do you think the adults disliked Barney? 309 00:16:14,392 --> 00:16:16,144 - Have you seen it? 310 00:16:16,185 --> 00:16:18,438 (laughing) 311 00:16:23,609 --> 00:16:26,362 - And now, time for another lesson from Barney, 312 00:16:26,404 --> 00:16:27,613 the Purple Dinosaur. 313 00:16:27,655 --> 00:16:29,824 How to file a lawsuit. 314 00:16:29,866 --> 00:16:32,744 They say it upsets Barney's young fans 315 00:16:32,785 --> 00:16:36,164 and they're asking for $100,000 in copyright damages 316 00:16:36,205 --> 00:16:39,542 for each time the chicken used Barney's likeness in a skit. 317 00:16:41,544 --> 00:16:45,381 - They've maintained that little kids were too young 318 00:16:45,423 --> 00:16:48,801 to understand that this wasn't the real Barney, 319 00:16:48,843 --> 00:16:50,678 as if there was a real Barney. 320 00:16:52,597 --> 00:16:54,724 - We're talking about a character that is, 321 00:16:54,766 --> 00:16:57,310 for a lot of kids, their first friend, 322 00:16:57,351 --> 00:16:59,771 and he's their best friend. 323 00:16:59,812 --> 00:17:02,273 (audience cheering) 324 00:17:02,315 --> 00:17:04,650 All these children out there are watching, you know, 325 00:17:04,692 --> 00:17:07,361 this other character beat up their best friend. 326 00:17:10,865 --> 00:17:12,658 How traumatic could that be? 327 00:17:15,453 --> 00:17:19,373 - I walked to the podium and Judge Grady Jolly, 328 00:17:19,415 --> 00:17:21,959 before I said anything, looked at me and said, 329 00:17:22,001 --> 00:17:24,921 "Mr. Fitzgerald, when is your client 330 00:17:24,962 --> 00:17:28,424 "gonna stop picking on poor ol' Barney?" 331 00:17:28,466 --> 00:17:30,635 - Let me get my glasses for this. 332 00:17:30,676 --> 00:17:33,721 - I said, well, Your Honor, he'll stop doing this act 333 00:17:33,763 --> 00:17:38,476 when people stop laughing because he's a comedian 334 00:17:38,518 --> 00:17:42,438 and everybody understands this is comedy, it's parody, 335 00:17:42,480 --> 00:17:44,273 and the law protects it. 336 00:17:44,315 --> 00:17:47,276 - We therefore agree with the district court 337 00:17:47,318 --> 00:17:50,530 that Giannoulas' use of the caricature 338 00:17:50,571 --> 00:17:53,658 clearly qualifies as a parody. 339 00:17:53,699 --> 00:17:54,534 Woo hoo! 340 00:17:56,035 --> 00:17:59,372 - The Fifth Circuit not only affirmed dismissing the case 341 00:17:59,414 --> 00:18:01,541 and throwing it out for lack of merit, 342 00:18:01,582 --> 00:18:04,252 Sheryl Leach had to pay our attorney's fees. 343 00:18:05,795 --> 00:18:07,714 I really do hate Barney. 344 00:18:09,424 --> 00:18:11,843 - [Reporter] It is okay for the San Diego Chicken 345 00:18:11,884 --> 00:18:13,678 to beat up Barney the Dinosaur. 346 00:18:14,762 --> 00:18:16,472 - So, a lesson learned. 347 00:18:16,514 --> 00:18:18,766 Barney gets a teachable moment. 348 00:18:18,808 --> 00:18:20,685 (cackling) 349 00:18:20,727 --> 00:18:21,978 - We didn't win the lawsuit. 350 00:18:22,019 --> 00:18:23,563 It hurts, man. 351 00:18:23,604 --> 00:18:25,565 Again, it's like somebody taking your child 352 00:18:25,606 --> 00:18:28,276 and doing crazy things to your child. 353 00:18:29,652 --> 00:18:31,654 - The Barney lawyers, they had threatened to sue 354 00:18:31,696 --> 00:18:33,656 all the members of the Jihad 355 00:18:33,698 --> 00:18:38,286 and we waited and we waited, but they were bluffing. 356 00:18:41,622 --> 00:18:43,750 They told us to cease and desist. 357 00:18:43,791 --> 00:18:46,044 We didn't cease and they desisted. 358 00:18:47,920 --> 00:18:52,925 - Our in-house legal team, can I say feckless on the air? 359 00:18:53,676 --> 00:18:54,969 They were feckless. 360 00:18:56,345 --> 00:18:57,972 - The lawsuits basically turned Barney 361 00:18:58,014 --> 00:19:01,601 into just another joke, and after all the years 362 00:19:01,642 --> 00:19:04,812 of Barney bashing, threats and lawsuits, 363 00:19:04,854 --> 00:19:07,732 it really was like a slap in the face for Sheryl. 364 00:19:07,774 --> 00:19:10,777 She'd spent so much time and energy building this character 365 00:19:10,818 --> 00:19:14,447 and I think it was starting to take a toll on her. 366 00:19:14,489 --> 00:19:16,783 I think all that had to have been rough 367 00:19:16,824 --> 00:19:18,785 on her marriage with Jim. 368 00:19:18,826 --> 00:19:20,787 And then, there was Patrick. 369 00:19:20,828 --> 00:19:24,791 At this time, Patrick is, you know, 12 years old. 370 00:19:24,832 --> 00:19:27,377 He's going into his teenage formative years. 371 00:19:27,418 --> 00:19:28,544 - [Man] Hi Patrick. 372 00:19:28,586 --> 00:19:30,463 - Patrick, the reason we're all here-- 373 00:19:30,505 --> 00:19:32,715 - [Man] Yes. - And his mom loves him. 374 00:19:32,757 --> 00:19:33,800 (smooching lips) 375 00:19:33,841 --> 00:19:35,385 - Sheryl was doing a lot for the show 376 00:19:35,426 --> 00:19:37,595 and really, that occupied a lot of her time. 377 00:19:37,637 --> 00:19:39,806 - [Sheryl] He's the apple of my eye. 378 00:19:39,847 --> 00:19:40,973 - [Man] Aah. 379 00:19:41,015 --> 00:19:42,809 - She wanted to be there more for Patrick. 380 00:19:42,850 --> 00:19:46,646 So, in 1998, Sheryl decided to leave the show. 381 00:19:51,067 --> 00:19:52,819 - Well, you know, as they say in show business, 382 00:19:52,860 --> 00:19:54,695 it's always good to leave on top. 383 00:19:54,737 --> 00:19:55,905 But she was missed. 384 00:19:55,947 --> 00:19:59,784 Oh, she was missed very, very, very much so. 385 00:20:04,539 --> 00:20:07,542 - She really was the heart of the show itself. 386 00:20:08,835 --> 00:20:13,840 - Once Sheryl departed, it really was never the same again. 387 00:20:18,845 --> 00:20:21,013 - In, you know, early 2000s, 388 00:20:21,055 --> 00:20:23,558 two core members of the cast walk away. 389 00:20:24,434 --> 00:20:26,519 - Hi, gang. Here we go. 390 00:20:26,561 --> 00:20:28,938 (bright music) 391 00:20:30,440 --> 00:20:33,818 I left because I got bored as a performer. 392 00:20:35,069 --> 00:20:39,824 See ya. See ya, kids. So long! (chuckling) 393 00:20:39,866 --> 00:20:42,869 - I figured after 10 years, I've done Barney, 394 00:20:42,910 --> 00:20:44,704 I've always wanted to move to Los Angeles 395 00:20:44,746 --> 00:20:45,955 to do other acting. 396 00:20:45,997 --> 00:20:48,708 Police! Hands on your heads! 397 00:20:48,750 --> 00:20:50,835 - God! Officer, I can explain. 398 00:20:50,877 --> 00:20:52,837 - You can explain why you're breaking into this house? 399 00:20:52,879 --> 00:20:57,675 But Barney, to me, man, that was amazing. 400 00:20:58,926 --> 00:20:59,927 - I guess that's a wrap. 401 00:21:02,930 --> 00:21:07,101 - The producers hire a new voice actor for Barney. 402 00:21:09,270 --> 00:21:11,898 - I'm so glad you came to play. 403 00:21:11,939 --> 00:21:15,818 - And a new body actor. And the show went on. 404 00:21:16,986 --> 00:21:19,238 After Sheryl leaves the show, they sell Barney 405 00:21:19,280 --> 00:21:23,451 to a huge media company for $275 million. 406 00:21:24,744 --> 00:21:27,038 - By the time it got to the sale, 407 00:21:27,080 --> 00:21:30,583 it was more of, how much money can you make here? 408 00:21:30,625 --> 00:21:34,587 Because these are now large corporations coming in. 409 00:21:34,629 --> 00:21:37,048 - They're looking for ways to increase ratings. 410 00:21:37,090 --> 00:21:39,592 And so, they start to mess around with Sheryl's 411 00:21:39,634 --> 00:21:42,512 all love, all the time formula of Barney. 412 00:21:42,553 --> 00:21:43,971 - They were trying to change things like 413 00:21:44,013 --> 00:21:45,473 put conflict into these stories. 414 00:21:45,515 --> 00:21:47,266 - But we have to take turns. 415 00:21:47,308 --> 00:21:49,102 That's how you play the game. 416 00:21:49,143 --> 00:21:51,896 - Well, it's not how I play the game. 417 00:21:51,938 --> 00:21:55,775 - And then, they introduce a new character into the mix. 418 00:21:55,817 --> 00:21:57,610 (laughing) - Hi, I'm Riff. 419 00:21:57,652 --> 00:21:59,862 Let's go have some fun with Barney. 420 00:22:01,155 --> 00:22:03,491 (saxophone music) 421 00:22:03,533 --> 00:22:05,618 - They wanted Riff to be a little edgy. 422 00:22:05,660 --> 00:22:06,869 He was gonna be musical. 423 00:22:06,911 --> 00:22:09,038 He was this, you know, big inventor. 424 00:22:09,080 --> 00:22:10,289 He was really out there. 425 00:22:10,331 --> 00:22:12,291 He was sort of hip hop. 426 00:22:12,333 --> 00:22:15,753 I believe there, urban was used as a descriptive. 427 00:22:17,046 --> 00:22:18,881 - When someone comes in, it's always gotta change it, 428 00:22:18,923 --> 00:22:20,091 gotta change it, make it new. 429 00:22:20,133 --> 00:22:20,925 You know, that's just the way it is. 430 00:22:20,967 --> 00:22:22,135 Even if it's not broken, 431 00:22:22,176 --> 00:22:23,678 they just wanna put their mark on it. 432 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:25,263 - Really, the Barney that I grew up with 433 00:22:25,304 --> 00:22:26,848 was no longer there. 434 00:22:29,809 --> 00:22:31,936 - The creative was gone. 435 00:22:31,978 --> 00:22:33,730 It was just all about the money. 436 00:22:34,981 --> 00:22:39,736 In 2010, "Barney and Friends," unfortunately, was canceled. 437 00:22:45,867 --> 00:22:47,160 It literally broke my heart. 438 00:22:47,201 --> 00:22:49,996 It was like a part of my heart 439 00:22:50,037 --> 00:22:52,206 had just been ripped out a little bit. 440 00:22:55,918 --> 00:23:00,923 - Barney's a huge impact of my growth as an actor, 441 00:23:01,340 --> 00:23:03,301 as a man. 442 00:23:05,762 --> 00:23:06,888 Barney's in my heart. 443 00:23:08,639 --> 00:23:11,934 Looking at this brings it all home. 444 00:23:13,686 --> 00:23:14,562 (sniffling) 445 00:23:14,604 --> 00:23:18,066 Oh man, I love you, Barney. 446 00:23:19,233 --> 00:23:21,319 Oh, I love you, Barney. I love you, Barney. 447 00:23:21,360 --> 00:23:23,112 I love you, Barney. 448 00:23:24,113 --> 00:23:27,992 - But at the same time, not many brands 449 00:23:28,034 --> 00:23:32,080 can say that they had a run like Barney did. 450 00:23:36,084 --> 00:23:40,338 - You know, in Sheryl's, one of her last media interviews, 451 00:23:40,380 --> 00:23:43,091 she said, "When I'm old and gray, 452 00:23:43,132 --> 00:23:44,884 "I want to be able to look back and say 453 00:23:44,926 --> 00:23:47,095 "that Barney, in his own small way, 454 00:23:47,136 --> 00:23:49,889 "made a positive difference in our world." 455 00:23:51,099 --> 00:23:54,227 And I think Sheryl can look back and be proud 456 00:23:54,268 --> 00:23:56,604 of what she did, proud of what she built. 457 00:23:57,772 --> 00:24:00,650 She gave everything to Barney and it paid off. 458 00:24:02,193 --> 00:24:05,279 But all that success came at a price. 459 00:24:06,280 --> 00:24:09,075 In 1998, she departs the show. 460 00:24:09,117 --> 00:24:11,619 Also in 1998, she separates from Jim. 461 00:24:11,661 --> 00:24:13,079 And you know, eventually their divorce 462 00:24:13,121 --> 00:24:14,664 was finalized in 2001. 463 00:24:17,291 --> 00:24:18,751 - [Man] One, two! 464 00:24:18,793 --> 00:24:20,044 - [All] Barney! 465 00:24:22,296 --> 00:24:26,050 - Everybody that worked on that show is remarkably human. 466 00:24:30,054 --> 00:24:31,347 We've all been hurt. 467 00:24:31,389 --> 00:24:34,267 We've all had tough times. 468 00:24:34,308 --> 00:24:38,312 We've had divorces, we had people who died 469 00:24:39,814 --> 00:24:43,192 under circumstances that just broke us. 470 00:24:45,820 --> 00:24:50,158 It wasn't all raindrops and lollipops and all that. 471 00:24:52,034 --> 00:24:55,288 But it was true that we all loved each other. 472 00:24:57,832 --> 00:24:59,250 - [All] Barney, Barney, Barney, Barney, Barney, Barney! 473 00:25:02,837 --> 00:25:05,173 - Sheryl Leach created this beautiful world, 474 00:25:05,214 --> 00:25:07,842 this safe space for the cast and crew. 475 00:25:07,884 --> 00:25:09,302 But the people that made the show 476 00:25:09,343 --> 00:25:11,304 had to live in the real world, too, 477 00:25:11,345 --> 00:25:13,765 and that included the Barney kids. 478 00:25:13,806 --> 00:25:16,934 One by one, they all grew up and had to venture 479 00:25:16,976 --> 00:25:19,145 into the real world on their own 480 00:25:19,187 --> 00:25:23,149 and they discovered it was a much harder world 481 00:25:23,191 --> 00:25:24,192 than Barney's world. 482 00:25:33,367 --> 00:25:35,870 (gentle guitar music) 483 00:25:35,912 --> 00:25:37,955 - I think I was around 13 by the time 484 00:25:37,997 --> 00:25:40,083 that I finished with the show. 485 00:25:40,124 --> 00:25:41,250 My first full year back in school, 486 00:25:41,292 --> 00:25:43,836 I was a freshman in high school. 487 00:25:43,878 --> 00:25:48,424 I remember feeling excited to go back. 488 00:25:48,466 --> 00:25:50,259 I just wanted to be a normal kid, 489 00:25:50,301 --> 00:25:52,804 do all the things like everyone else was. 490 00:25:54,472 --> 00:25:57,600 - I was excited to get to go back with my friends 491 00:25:57,642 --> 00:26:00,269 that I'd had forever, and also kind of have 492 00:26:00,311 --> 00:26:03,606 this Barney experience with me, 493 00:26:03,648 --> 00:26:05,858 but it was not well received. 494 00:26:07,527 --> 00:26:11,280 (kids laughing and taunting) 495 00:26:13,116 --> 00:26:14,325 - There was always those people 496 00:26:14,367 --> 00:26:16,327 that were kind of the Barney haters. 497 00:26:17,662 --> 00:26:19,288 There were people that would, you know, 498 00:26:19,330 --> 00:26:21,332 obviously call me the Barney girl and they would sing, 499 00:26:21,374 --> 00:26:22,625 I hate you, you know. 500 00:26:22,667 --> 00:26:25,837 - Kids would call me, you know, Barney lover 501 00:26:27,004 --> 00:26:28,923 and they would come up to me and say, 502 00:26:28,965 --> 00:26:32,260 Barney must have molested us or something. 503 00:26:32,301 --> 00:26:35,054 I'd get that all the time. All the time. 504 00:26:35,096 --> 00:26:37,557 And it really was painful given my history 505 00:26:37,598 --> 00:26:39,058 of actually going through that. 506 00:26:39,100 --> 00:26:40,309 It just, it stung. 507 00:26:43,187 --> 00:26:45,440 - I didn't wanna be known as the Barney girl 508 00:26:45,481 --> 00:26:47,483 that was like, a goody two shoes. 509 00:26:47,525 --> 00:26:51,279 So instead, I took to bad habits. 510 00:26:54,699 --> 00:26:56,075 If you wanted to have a drink, 511 00:26:56,117 --> 00:26:59,287 yeah, I will have a drink with you or smoke. 512 00:26:59,328 --> 00:27:01,205 I will do that with you, too. 513 00:27:01,247 --> 00:27:03,332 I'd rather be known for that. 514 00:27:03,374 --> 00:27:06,419 - I did turn to drugs and alcohol, you know, 515 00:27:06,461 --> 00:27:08,212 to cope, to deal. 516 00:27:08,254 --> 00:27:10,256 I did, you know, wear black clothes 517 00:27:10,298 --> 00:27:13,926 and black lipstick and called myself Black Death, 518 00:27:13,968 --> 00:27:17,472 you know, because I was like, anti was not Barney. 519 00:27:17,513 --> 00:27:22,518 But honestly, at the core of me, I am all those things. 520 00:27:23,978 --> 00:27:26,397 I am sweet, I am compassionate, and I'm very loving. 521 00:27:26,439 --> 00:27:29,317 But it was hard. I felt the need to prove myself. 522 00:27:29,358 --> 00:27:32,278 - When I left Barney, the streets was calling. 523 00:27:33,738 --> 00:27:38,076 They were calling me, and I answered the phone. 524 00:27:39,243 --> 00:27:40,078 You know. 525 00:27:41,454 --> 00:27:43,539 I was doing some of the wrong things in life, 526 00:27:43,581 --> 00:27:46,375 you know, and hanging around the wrong crowds 527 00:27:46,417 --> 00:27:48,711 and drugs and things of that nature, 528 00:27:48,753 --> 00:27:50,713 and it got a little rough. 529 00:27:50,755 --> 00:27:51,964 It got real rough. 530 00:27:55,968 --> 00:28:00,932 November 13th, 2004, I was with a guy that I knew 531 00:28:02,350 --> 00:28:07,146 or thought I knew, and he had pulled a gun out on me 532 00:28:10,233 --> 00:28:14,612 and told me, give me everything. 533 00:28:16,239 --> 00:28:20,618 And at that point, I just didn't know what to do. 534 00:28:25,748 --> 00:28:27,417 I jumped out of the car and then 535 00:28:27,458 --> 00:28:31,003 that's when he shot me in the spine and paralyzed. 536 00:28:34,465 --> 00:28:37,093 Doctors say, you'll never walk again. 537 00:28:37,135 --> 00:28:40,179 It was a tough full year of rehabilitation. 538 00:28:40,221 --> 00:28:42,724 I just had faith and believed I was gonna walk 539 00:28:42,765 --> 00:28:45,309 and I started doing it, and it was a miracle. 540 00:28:53,609 --> 00:28:57,697 I had to realize the things that I was doing at that time 541 00:28:57,739 --> 00:29:01,325 in my early 20s was not right. 542 00:29:01,367 --> 00:29:04,537 And I was punished because I know I was raised right. 543 00:29:04,579 --> 00:29:08,541 Doing the right things, being great, love, 544 00:29:08,583 --> 00:29:10,460 and a lot of it goes back to Barney. 545 00:29:12,295 --> 00:29:13,504 And that's it, period. 546 00:29:15,673 --> 00:29:18,092 - [Interviewer] So what do you know about Patrick Leach? 547 00:29:18,134 --> 00:29:21,471 - I don't really know much about Patrick Leach. 548 00:29:21,512 --> 00:29:25,641 I heard some rumors that he was having a hard time. 549 00:29:25,683 --> 00:29:28,519 I was bullied, you know, for being on the show, 550 00:29:28,561 --> 00:29:33,149 so I can only imagine what Patrick went through. 551 00:29:33,191 --> 00:29:35,234 - Your son, who was how old at the time Barney was created? 552 00:29:35,276 --> 00:29:36,736 - He was two. 553 00:29:36,778 --> 00:29:39,322 - Well, now he's 16 and it is the bane of his existence, 554 00:29:39,363 --> 00:29:40,281 isn't it? That his mom came up with Barney. 555 00:29:40,323 --> 00:29:42,158 - He's a normal 16-year-old. 556 00:29:42,200 --> 00:29:45,411 Do his friends tease him about that? 557 00:29:45,453 --> 00:29:47,663 - They do. Unfortunately, they do. 558 00:29:48,790 --> 00:29:51,459 - I didn't realize, and I guess this is just 559 00:29:51,501 --> 00:29:53,044 pretty shortsighted on my part, 560 00:29:53,086 --> 00:29:57,673 that even he would be impacted by Barney 561 00:29:57,715 --> 00:30:00,551 and his association to it. 562 00:30:01,803 --> 00:30:05,556 - Naturally enough, everybody thinks that kind of fame 563 00:30:05,598 --> 00:30:09,352 and money and all of the celebrity and excitement 564 00:30:09,394 --> 00:30:10,728 that goes with it would be great. 565 00:30:10,770 --> 00:30:12,855 That's what everybody wants. 566 00:30:12,897 --> 00:30:16,442 But it's a two-sided coin. 567 00:30:16,484 --> 00:30:19,821 It can be very rough and very rough on a family dynamic. 568 00:30:21,489 --> 00:30:24,158 After Sheryl left the show and got divorced, 569 00:30:24,200 --> 00:30:27,453 she and Patrick spent a lot of time in Turks & Caicos 570 00:30:27,495 --> 00:30:29,122 in the Caribbean. 571 00:30:29,163 --> 00:30:32,542 - And while there, Sheryl opened a restaurant. 572 00:30:32,583 --> 00:30:35,420 Patrick helped out in that restaurant for a while before, 573 00:30:35,461 --> 00:30:38,631 at some point moving back to the states to live in Malibu. 574 00:30:41,384 --> 00:30:43,553 - [Interviewer] Do you know what happened in Malibu? 575 00:30:43,594 --> 00:30:44,595 - Yeah. 576 00:30:45,930 --> 00:30:47,432 I don't know if you were talking about that or not, 577 00:30:57,483 --> 00:30:58,317 - [Man] Michael, you good? 578 00:30:58,359 --> 00:30:59,026 (indistinct) 579 00:30:59,068 --> 00:31:00,194 Two cameras, A-B mark. 580 00:31:01,654 --> 00:31:03,698 - My name is Charles Mittelstadt, 581 00:31:03,740 --> 00:31:05,616 and I'm a criminal defense investigator. 582 00:31:08,661 --> 00:31:11,581 Barney was responsible for entertaining my kids 583 00:31:11,622 --> 00:31:15,001 when they were younger, and then later, 584 00:31:15,043 --> 00:31:17,795 I came to know Barney in the form of 585 00:31:17,837 --> 00:31:20,214 the association to a client of mine. 586 00:31:21,549 --> 00:31:23,634 - Barney the Purple Dinosaur may love everyone, 587 00:31:23,676 --> 00:31:26,304 but apparently not everyone associated with Barney 588 00:31:26,345 --> 00:31:27,472 shares that philosophy. 589 00:31:27,513 --> 00:31:29,766 Patrick Leach, whose mother Sheryl 590 00:31:29,807 --> 00:31:32,435 created the PBS character, has been arrested 591 00:31:32,477 --> 00:31:35,396 for shooting his Malibu neighbor with a 45. 592 00:31:46,949 --> 00:31:48,451 - My name is Brenda Lee. 593 00:31:48,493 --> 00:31:49,952 I'm a deputy district attorney 594 00:31:49,994 --> 00:31:52,538 with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. 595 00:31:53,664 --> 00:31:55,458 When I initially heard about the case, 596 00:31:56,667 --> 00:31:59,545 I wondered what led the son of the creator 597 00:31:59,587 --> 00:32:01,631 of somebody who's supposed to be all love and non-violence 598 00:32:01,672 --> 00:32:04,425 would lead this person to shoot his neighbor. 599 00:32:07,428 --> 00:32:09,472 - At this point, Patrick is 27, 600 00:32:09,514 --> 00:32:13,684 living in Malibu with his fiance and two kids. 601 00:32:13,726 --> 00:32:16,771 Next door to Patrick's mansion is a more modest house 602 00:32:16,813 --> 00:32:19,399 where a guy by the name of Eric Shanks lives 603 00:32:19,440 --> 00:32:21,734 with his elderly mother. 604 00:32:21,776 --> 00:32:25,613 Patrick and Eric had a few disagreements in the past. 605 00:32:25,655 --> 00:32:29,450 - The morning of January 9th, 2013, 606 00:32:29,492 --> 00:32:32,578 Eric Shanks, he was walking up the driveway 607 00:32:32,620 --> 00:32:33,746 toward his own home. 608 00:32:33,788 --> 00:32:36,791 He passed Patrick Leach's house. 609 00:32:36,833 --> 00:32:39,001 There was a sign there in front of the gate 610 00:32:39,043 --> 00:32:42,505 that said no trespassing, and there was a camera there. 611 00:32:42,547 --> 00:32:45,299 So Eric Shanks walked over, took a closer look, 612 00:32:45,341 --> 00:32:48,052 turned around and walked up the hill to his house. 613 00:32:48,094 --> 00:32:50,722 Patrick Leach, apparently he had seen this interaction 614 00:32:50,763 --> 00:32:52,348 through his security cameras. 615 00:32:53,474 --> 00:32:56,436 So Patrick Leach drove off the driveway 616 00:32:56,477 --> 00:32:58,855 to the Shanks residence 617 00:32:58,896 --> 00:33:00,982 and they started screaming at each other. 618 00:33:01,023 --> 00:33:02,942 Patrick Leach saying, you came onto my property, 619 00:33:02,984 --> 00:33:04,610 stop trespassing. 620 00:33:04,652 --> 00:33:06,946 Eric Shanks saying, you're on my property now. 621 00:33:06,988 --> 00:33:09,657 Ultimately, Eric Shanks turned around 622 00:33:09,699 --> 00:33:12,744 to go back to his house and when he looked back, 623 00:33:12,785 --> 00:33:14,996 Patrick Leach had a gun pointed at him. 624 00:33:17,123 --> 00:33:19,625 Eric Shanks then said, "A gun. Really? 625 00:33:19,667 --> 00:33:20,877 "Are you going to shoot me?" 626 00:33:20,918 --> 00:33:23,004 And before he could even finish that sentence, 627 00:33:23,046 --> 00:33:26,758 he testified that Patrick Leach started shooting. 628 00:33:27,759 --> 00:33:30,470 - The victim was shot in the chest 629 00:33:30,511 --> 00:33:33,848 and the bullet went through his chest and out his shoulder. 630 00:33:33,890 --> 00:33:35,516 He's lucky to be alive. 631 00:33:35,558 --> 00:33:36,893 - [Man] Five shots, doesn't sound like 632 00:33:36,934 --> 00:33:38,811 anything else but gunshots. 633 00:33:38,853 --> 00:33:41,147 - [Reporter] This witness who wishes to remain anonymous, 634 00:33:41,189 --> 00:33:44,567 helped save the life of a 49-year-old man 635 00:33:44,609 --> 00:33:47,570 he found bleeding out in the driveway. 636 00:33:47,612 --> 00:33:50,740 - In the meantime, Patrick Leach was speeding down 637 00:33:50,782 --> 00:33:52,116 Pacific Coast Highway. 638 00:33:53,451 --> 00:33:55,453 (sirens blaring) (helicopter whirring) 639 00:33:55,495 --> 00:33:56,788 They pulled him out of the car and found 640 00:33:56,829 --> 00:34:00,792 a loaded handgun and a rifle, 641 00:34:00,833 --> 00:34:03,836 and he was wearing a bulletproof vest underneath his jacket. 642 00:34:05,838 --> 00:34:07,548 - [Interviewer] What does that say to you? 643 00:34:08,758 --> 00:34:11,886 - It says to me that he went to the Shanks household 644 00:34:11,928 --> 00:34:14,514 that morning prepared. 645 00:34:14,555 --> 00:34:15,932 He was ready for a shootout. 646 00:34:16,933 --> 00:34:19,560 Patrick Leach was now facing life in prison 647 00:34:19,602 --> 00:34:21,437 for attempted murder. 648 00:34:21,479 --> 00:34:23,648 - How do you explain the conduct? 649 00:34:23,689 --> 00:34:26,859 Human nature is such that whenever we feel threatened, 650 00:34:26,901 --> 00:34:31,697 perceived or real, we are, we resort to things 651 00:34:31,739 --> 00:34:35,868 that sometimes can be very sort of animalistic. 652 00:34:35,910 --> 00:34:37,370 - There had been a couple of interactions 653 00:34:37,412 --> 00:34:42,041 between the Leach and the Shanks family before January 9th, 654 00:34:42,083 --> 00:34:45,169 and they weren't that pleasant. 655 00:34:45,211 --> 00:34:50,091 - Eric Shanks would come outside, then yell things. 656 00:34:51,551 --> 00:34:55,054 And Patrick's perception was that Eric Shanks 657 00:34:55,096 --> 00:34:57,932 represented a real threat to him and his family. 658 00:34:59,183 --> 00:35:01,811 - If you feel as though you or your family is threatened, 659 00:35:01,853 --> 00:35:04,021 you would probably go over there, 660 00:35:04,063 --> 00:35:05,940 knock on the door and have a conversation 661 00:35:05,982 --> 00:35:07,775 or even an argument maybe, 662 00:35:07,817 --> 00:35:10,194 but that's not what Patrick Leach did. 663 00:35:10,236 --> 00:35:11,863 He took it to another level. 664 00:35:14,115 --> 00:35:19,120 My impression of Patrick Leach is that he was paranoid 665 00:35:19,829 --> 00:35:21,581 and very tightly wound. 666 00:35:23,875 --> 00:35:26,961 - I don't recall exactly when or how I heard 667 00:35:27,003 --> 00:35:32,008 about the shooting incident, but it just, it hit me so hard. 668 00:35:34,052 --> 00:35:34,886 - And... 669 00:35:36,888 --> 00:35:38,848 - You know, you remember this like, bright-eyed little boy 670 00:35:38,890 --> 00:35:41,517 who was just nothing but precious, 671 00:35:43,019 --> 00:35:44,228 and I wonder what happened. 672 00:35:46,189 --> 00:35:47,690 - [Interviewer] Do you think that when Sheryl 673 00:35:47,732 --> 00:35:49,609 created Barney, she unknowingly 674 00:35:49,650 --> 00:35:51,110 created a problem for her son? 675 00:35:52,862 --> 00:35:55,782 - You know, I don't know. 676 00:35:55,823 --> 00:35:58,159 I mean, I think that the fact that she created Barney 677 00:35:58,201 --> 00:36:01,204 probably gave them a lot, financially. 678 00:36:01,245 --> 00:36:04,624 I think he could afford things and travel 679 00:36:04,665 --> 00:36:06,084 and do things that he wouldn't have been able to do 680 00:36:06,125 --> 00:36:08,169 had they not done Barney. 681 00:36:08,211 --> 00:36:10,630 But there's good and bad with everything. 682 00:36:10,671 --> 00:36:14,050 - Being a rich kid, that's a tough factor. 683 00:36:14,092 --> 00:36:19,013 It's not a great gift to have access to too much money. 684 00:36:19,055 --> 00:36:21,265 You know, it can kill initiative, 685 00:36:21,307 --> 00:36:23,810 your sense of accomplishment, your self worth. 686 00:36:23,851 --> 00:36:26,813 - So, probably, yeah, I think that there was 687 00:36:26,854 --> 00:36:28,022 some negative as well. 688 00:36:30,191 --> 00:36:34,654 - I think Patrick had a lot to contend with in life. 689 00:36:34,695 --> 00:36:35,988 A lot of challenges. 690 00:36:36,030 --> 00:36:38,991 Some were medical issues. 691 00:36:39,033 --> 00:36:42,120 He had had some brain surgery. 692 00:36:42,161 --> 00:36:44,038 I knew Patrick was troubled. 693 00:36:45,206 --> 00:36:47,750 - When I heard the whole situation with Patrick 694 00:36:47,792 --> 00:36:51,921 and the Malibu incident, I wasn't surprised. 695 00:36:53,715 --> 00:36:58,678 I could understand, knowing what happened with his dad. 696 00:37:15,194 --> 00:37:19,282 - So this is from the application for 697 00:37:19,323 --> 00:37:22,285 the commutation of Patrick's sentence. 698 00:37:25,079 --> 00:37:28,124 Mr. Leach faced significant challenge as a child 699 00:37:28,166 --> 00:37:29,917 and during early adulthood. 700 00:37:29,959 --> 00:37:31,711 When he was young, his mother was busy building 701 00:37:31,753 --> 00:37:33,171 a successful career and his father 702 00:37:33,212 --> 00:37:35,131 struggled with depression. 703 00:37:35,173 --> 00:37:37,800 Mr. Leach's parents separated when he was 14 years old 704 00:37:37,842 --> 00:37:39,969 and divorced three years later. 705 00:37:40,011 --> 00:37:42,305 During that time, Mr. Leach developed a brain tumor, 706 00:37:42,346 --> 00:37:45,183 benign, that was surgically removed. 707 00:37:45,224 --> 00:37:47,060 When Mr. Leach was 18 years old, 708 00:37:47,101 --> 00:37:48,978 his father committed suicide. 709 00:37:52,148 --> 00:37:56,152 - I was in Mexico City for a state show tour 710 00:37:56,194 --> 00:37:59,781 when we got the call that Jim Leach had committed suicide. 711 00:37:59,822 --> 00:38:02,742 And that was just devastating. 712 00:38:04,160 --> 00:38:07,038 Talk about your heart going out to both Sheryl and Patrick. 713 00:38:07,080 --> 00:38:12,085 It was beyond what anybody could ever think would happen. 714 00:38:13,461 --> 00:38:17,340 You know, for a child that was raised 715 00:38:17,382 --> 00:38:20,718 with basically anything he ever wanted, 716 00:38:20,760 --> 00:38:25,765 but there were a lot of hidden dark paths that followed him. 717 00:38:28,893 --> 00:38:31,896 - By his own admission, he became essentially 718 00:38:31,938 --> 00:38:33,523 almost addicted to marijuana, 719 00:38:33,564 --> 00:38:36,025 to where it was a coping mechanism 720 00:38:36,067 --> 00:38:37,860 as a way to numb his emotions 721 00:38:37,902 --> 00:38:40,446 and not have to deal with the realities of life. 722 00:38:40,488 --> 00:38:43,366 It sort of amped up his anxiety and it amped up 723 00:38:43,408 --> 00:38:48,413 his paranoia to the extent that when he was confronted 724 00:38:49,914 --> 00:38:52,250 with someone that he considered to be threatening 725 00:38:52,291 --> 00:38:57,296 and to be very aggressive, it distorted his reality 726 00:38:58,923 --> 00:39:01,217 and his ability to deal with it in a logical way. 727 00:39:01,259 --> 00:39:03,219 - Sounds like he had a hard time growing up. 728 00:39:03,261 --> 00:39:05,138 It explains his behavior, 729 00:39:05,179 --> 00:39:07,890 but I wouldn't say it justifies his behavior. 730 00:39:17,150 --> 00:39:19,235 - [Interviewer] Why do you think Sheryl Leach 731 00:39:19,277 --> 00:39:21,362 would not want to participate in this documentary? 732 00:39:22,864 --> 00:39:25,408 - I think that Sheryl would never, 733 00:39:27,076 --> 00:39:29,454 I think Sheryl would talk all day long to you about Barney, 734 00:39:29,495 --> 00:39:31,456 but I don't think she wants to talk about 735 00:39:31,497 --> 00:39:33,958 the relationship between Barney and Patrick. 736 00:39:36,836 --> 00:39:38,838 - I felt so bad for her because she, 737 00:39:41,466 --> 00:39:44,177 she meant so much to me and to a lot of people. 738 00:39:45,553 --> 00:39:47,138 You know, the phrase "every mother's nightmare" 739 00:39:47,180 --> 00:39:48,056 comes to mind. 740 00:39:51,142 --> 00:39:54,145 - Patrick Leach ultimately pled no contest 741 00:39:54,187 --> 00:39:56,272 to assault with a deadly weapon. 742 00:39:57,440 --> 00:40:00,318 On July 1st, 2015, he was sentenced 743 00:40:00,359 --> 00:40:03,237 to state prison for 15 years, 744 00:40:03,279 --> 00:40:06,282 and ultimately the governor commuted his sentence 745 00:40:06,324 --> 00:40:08,910 and Patrick Leach got out in five years. 746 00:40:17,085 --> 00:40:20,046 - To like, paraphrase Bryan Stevenson, it's like, 747 00:40:20,088 --> 00:40:21,964 each of us is more than the worst things 748 00:40:22,006 --> 00:40:23,591 that we've ever done, right. 749 00:40:23,633 --> 00:40:26,260 Like, who we are on our worst day 750 00:40:26,302 --> 00:40:28,596 has a whole story which precedes it 751 00:40:28,638 --> 00:40:30,890 and that if we are given the opportunity, 752 00:40:30,932 --> 00:40:34,560 there is a whole story that comes after that day. 753 00:40:34,602 --> 00:40:38,981 - Patrick, this child who was really the inspiration 754 00:40:39,023 --> 00:40:43,319 for Barney, for a character that spreads love, 755 00:40:43,361 --> 00:40:47,281 spreads joy, spreads kindness and peace, 756 00:40:48,616 --> 00:40:52,245 he went against everything that his mother 757 00:40:52,286 --> 00:40:55,415 tried to teach the world. 758 00:40:55,456 --> 00:40:58,876 And I think that is tragic. 759 00:41:00,253 --> 00:41:04,382 - So yeah, the question is, why can't the lessons of Barney 760 00:41:04,424 --> 00:41:06,634 translate into the adult world? 761 00:41:06,676 --> 00:41:08,136 Why can't we do that? 762 00:41:09,095 --> 00:41:11,180 - These messages for children, 763 00:41:11,222 --> 00:41:13,224 when we hear them again as adults, 764 00:41:13,266 --> 00:41:18,271 I do think they hit sometimes in a place of cynicism. 765 00:41:19,355 --> 00:41:20,690 I love you, you're into me, 766 00:41:20,732 --> 00:41:23,526 everyone's cool, we're a happy family. 767 00:41:23,568 --> 00:41:26,487 You know, when you're 30, you know, 768 00:41:26,529 --> 00:41:28,698 not everyone has found that to be true. 769 00:41:28,740 --> 00:41:30,324 - Let me do it. 770 00:41:30,366 --> 00:41:35,037 (indistinct) (laughing) 771 00:41:36,247 --> 00:41:37,373 - I'm Shannon Foley Martinez. 772 00:41:37,415 --> 00:41:41,127 I'm a former neo-Nazi white supremacist 773 00:41:41,169 --> 00:41:44,255 who now works to help people leave those spaces 774 00:41:44,297 --> 00:41:46,215 and to build prevention models so that 775 00:41:46,257 --> 00:41:48,426 people never end up there in the first place. 776 00:41:50,303 --> 00:41:55,475 Obviously, I'm not saying that people who hate 777 00:41:56,517 --> 00:41:58,644 a children's television character are in any way 778 00:41:58,686 --> 00:42:00,646 the same thing as, you know, 779 00:42:00,688 --> 00:42:03,399 someone who embraced the things that I embraced. 780 00:42:04,567 --> 00:42:08,362 However, the dynamics of basing your identity 781 00:42:08,404 --> 00:42:12,075 around what you hate and what you despise, 782 00:42:12,116 --> 00:42:14,660 that those dynamics are exactly the same. 783 00:42:14,702 --> 00:42:17,330 This is the process of what allows you 784 00:42:17,371 --> 00:42:19,457 to dehumanize other people. 785 00:42:20,458 --> 00:42:22,377 I think as a culture, like, 786 00:42:22,418 --> 00:42:26,089 we really value provocative behavior 787 00:42:26,130 --> 00:42:31,135 and on the internet, the more outrageous the content, 788 00:42:34,722 --> 00:42:38,142 the more likely we are to respond to it. 789 00:42:38,184 --> 00:42:42,980 And therefore, the more money that internet, you know, 790 00:42:43,022 --> 00:42:45,316 providers and platforms can make off of us, 791 00:42:45,358 --> 00:42:47,735 the more data they can mine and the more data they can mine, 792 00:42:47,777 --> 00:42:49,529 the more money they can make off of it 793 00:42:49,570 --> 00:42:52,323 and create this experience of where we spend 794 00:42:52,365 --> 00:42:56,327 more and more and more time in tighter and tighter 795 00:42:56,369 --> 00:43:01,040 echo chambers where our world views are completely upheld. 796 00:43:01,082 --> 00:43:04,460 But there is a cost, in my opinion, 797 00:43:04,502 --> 00:43:09,507 to being someone who identifies by what they hate. 798 00:43:10,633 --> 00:43:11,759 (video game blasting) 799 00:43:11,801 --> 00:43:13,636 You limit your ability to be moved, 800 00:43:13,678 --> 00:43:16,514 to engage with the world about what you love. 801 00:43:16,556 --> 00:43:21,394 - I was never like, big into hating Barney as a person. 802 00:43:21,436 --> 00:43:23,521 I thought he was annoying, sure, 803 00:43:23,563 --> 00:43:26,023 but like everybody thought he was annoying. 804 00:43:27,525 --> 00:43:30,820 But I was captivated by the Jihad to Destroy Barney 805 00:43:30,862 --> 00:43:32,238 on the worldwide web. 806 00:43:35,116 --> 00:43:38,661 Something that I've always had trouble with is that, 807 00:43:38,703 --> 00:43:41,372 you know, the Jihad to Destroy Barney the Dinosaur 808 00:43:41,414 --> 00:43:46,419 sort of sits at a point where we are in the crossroads 809 00:43:49,422 --> 00:43:54,052 of both the good and the bad of the internet. 810 00:43:54,093 --> 00:43:55,678 (keyboard clacking) 811 00:43:55,720 --> 00:43:57,180 And you can't draw a direct line, 812 00:43:57,221 --> 00:44:00,058 but there is definitely an evolutionary chain 813 00:44:00,099 --> 00:44:02,477 between the Jihad to Destroy Barney 814 00:44:02,518 --> 00:44:05,563 and things like 4chan and QAnon. 815 00:44:08,900 --> 00:44:13,112 We helped perpetuate that sort of nonsense 816 00:44:13,154 --> 00:44:17,075 and helped normalize that sort of nonsense, in a way. 817 00:44:17,116 --> 00:44:18,743 - To me, it's not that big of a leap 818 00:44:18,785 --> 00:44:21,370 from basing my identity around, you know, 819 00:44:21,412 --> 00:44:25,541 hating Barney as it is to hating Democrats or Republicans 820 00:44:25,583 --> 00:44:28,544 or northerners or southerners. 821 00:44:28,586 --> 00:44:30,797 Those are not two profoundly different things. 822 00:44:34,300 --> 00:44:37,553 - It's sad because one thing that I think Barney 823 00:44:37,595 --> 00:44:42,600 teaches everyone, we might be different. 824 00:44:45,603 --> 00:44:47,480 We might be different races. 825 00:44:47,522 --> 00:44:48,689 - Face me! (crowd yelling) 826 00:44:48,731 --> 00:44:51,150 - We might come from different backgrounds, 827 00:44:52,276 --> 00:44:55,363 but we're all here together. 828 00:44:55,405 --> 00:44:57,115 We're all in it together. 829 00:44:57,156 --> 00:45:00,743 (crowd cheering and shouting) 830 00:45:02,245 --> 00:45:05,456 - Turn on the news and every day, 831 00:45:05,498 --> 00:45:10,503 every single day, you'll see human beings 832 00:45:11,504 --> 00:45:13,798 just being cruel to other human beings. 833 00:45:13,840 --> 00:45:16,217 - They wanted her to kill herself. 834 00:45:16,259 --> 00:45:17,552 They got what they wanted. 835 00:45:18,636 --> 00:45:21,472 - And now it's like, everyone has a platform 836 00:45:21,514 --> 00:45:24,267 to just say the ugliest things they want. 837 00:45:24,308 --> 00:45:26,728 - There was a persistent rumor for a really long time 838 00:45:26,769 --> 00:45:27,895 that I was dead. 839 00:45:31,315 --> 00:45:34,444 After a certain point, you start to wonder, you know, 840 00:45:34,485 --> 00:45:36,779 is this a cultural preference? 841 00:45:36,821 --> 00:45:41,826 You know, it starts to feel really bad. 842 00:45:43,369 --> 00:45:45,246 You know, what, why won't this rumor go away? 843 00:45:45,288 --> 00:45:47,623 Was this what people would prefer? 844 00:45:47,665 --> 00:45:50,668 You start to take it quite personally after a while. 845 00:45:51,669 --> 00:45:53,546 - People like, take joy in entertainment 846 00:45:53,588 --> 00:45:55,548 and they also take joy in making fun of it. 847 00:45:55,590 --> 00:45:59,594 But what people don't always realize is the effects 848 00:45:59,635 --> 00:46:01,262 that can have on the people making it. 849 00:46:01,304 --> 00:46:03,306 You see that with somebody like Jake Lloyd, 850 00:46:03,347 --> 00:46:06,309 who is the little blonde kid, the star of the Phantom Menace 851 00:46:06,350 --> 00:46:08,978 who was blamed for destroying the Star Wars franchise. 852 00:46:09,020 --> 00:46:10,897 That, you know, people like were upset about that movie 853 00:46:10,938 --> 00:46:12,815 and he became the focus of that. 854 00:46:12,857 --> 00:46:14,192 Then all of a sudden, you know, 855 00:46:14,233 --> 00:46:16,861 like, he is this figure of mockery and that, 856 00:46:16,903 --> 00:46:19,363 you know, messes him up. 857 00:46:19,405 --> 00:46:21,449 - [Interviewer] Was there a Barney curse? 858 00:46:23,659 --> 00:46:26,621 - I wouldn't necessarily say that. 859 00:46:26,662 --> 00:46:28,623 - I hate him. I hate him with a passion. 860 00:46:28,664 --> 00:46:30,374 - Die, you Commie (bleep). 861 00:46:30,416 --> 00:46:31,626 (gunshot ringing) 862 00:46:31,667 --> 00:46:33,836 - [Woman] Barney is the bane of my existence. 863 00:46:33,878 --> 00:46:35,338 - It's like no one learned the lessons 864 00:46:35,380 --> 00:46:36,547 that Barney was trying to teach, 865 00:46:36,589 --> 00:46:38,466 is just that to love each other, to share, 866 00:46:38,508 --> 00:46:39,967 to be kind, you know. 867 00:46:40,009 --> 00:46:41,219 - I love you, Barney. 868 00:46:42,387 --> 00:46:45,264 - We love you, too. (giggling) 869 00:46:45,306 --> 00:46:47,558 - We just couldn't let the love in. 870 00:46:47,600 --> 00:46:48,810 The problem was us. 871 00:46:52,522 --> 00:46:53,773 - [Man] Two cameras, A-B four. 872 00:46:53,815 --> 00:46:55,608 (slide clacking) 873 00:46:55,650 --> 00:46:56,901 - [Interviewer] What were you saying, Rob? 874 00:46:56,943 --> 00:46:59,654 - I was saying that, you know, 875 00:46:59,695 --> 00:47:02,407 I thought I had shed all of these, you know, 876 00:47:02,448 --> 00:47:03,741 Barney nightmares from, you know, 877 00:47:03,783 --> 00:47:06,035 years and years of exposure. 878 00:47:06,077 --> 00:47:09,956 And now I have to deal with all this PTSD right now, 879 00:47:09,997 --> 00:47:11,958 and it's taken its toll. 880 00:47:13,501 --> 00:47:16,337 The I Hate Barney Secret Society is here 881 00:47:16,379 --> 00:47:19,716 to help the families that have Barney addicts. 882 00:47:19,757 --> 00:47:20,967 That's what we're all about. 883 00:47:21,008 --> 00:47:23,803 (crowd booing) 884 00:47:25,430 --> 00:47:26,806 - I'll bet you have an addiction. 885 00:47:26,848 --> 00:47:28,975 I bet you love to watch your sports, 886 00:47:29,016 --> 00:47:32,395 and I wonder how many things that you are addicted to. 887 00:47:33,521 --> 00:47:36,107 - All of these themes that I had in the 888 00:47:36,149 --> 00:47:38,776 I Hate Barney Secret Society, 889 00:47:38,818 --> 00:47:41,863 these were the same issues that I had to face 890 00:47:41,904 --> 00:47:45,533 in my alcoholism and in my recovery. 891 00:47:45,575 --> 00:47:49,704 What we've really got is like a seven step support group 892 00:47:49,746 --> 00:47:52,999 for families that have Barney addicts. 893 00:47:53,040 --> 00:47:56,836 You know, I said a Barney addict controls the supply. 894 00:47:56,878 --> 00:47:58,087 You know, I was having problems 895 00:47:58,129 --> 00:48:00,673 with protecting my supply of alcohol. 896 00:48:00,715 --> 00:48:01,883 You know, I was losing, you know, 897 00:48:01,924 --> 00:48:05,845 control of what was going on in my own life. 898 00:48:05,887 --> 00:48:09,432 Barney gave me something to shoot for and trying to, 899 00:48:09,474 --> 00:48:12,518 you know, satirize Barney, I was also trying to, 900 00:48:12,560 --> 00:48:13,978 you know, satirize myself. 901 00:48:15,146 --> 00:48:19,817 I've been in recovery from alcoholism for, 902 00:48:19,859 --> 00:48:22,195 I don't know, probably 30 years now. 903 00:48:22,236 --> 00:48:23,905 You know, Barney allowed me to address 904 00:48:23,946 --> 00:48:25,740 my own character defects. 905 00:48:27,784 --> 00:48:30,912 You know, I'm grateful for what Barney did for me. 906 00:48:39,045 --> 00:48:43,633 - In a way, Barney was a mirror and is a mirror 907 00:48:45,093 --> 00:48:48,846 on each person who views it and who has an opinion on it. 908 00:48:50,681 --> 00:48:55,686 And I think because this overt showing of affection, 909 00:48:57,146 --> 00:48:58,856 that ended up being kind of threatening 910 00:48:58,898 --> 00:49:00,942 to some people because, probably because 911 00:49:00,983 --> 00:49:02,902 they had never had that in their lives 912 00:49:02,944 --> 00:49:04,612 and they didn't understand it. 913 00:49:04,654 --> 00:49:08,074 - People couldn't accept that this was just a show 914 00:49:08,116 --> 00:49:12,745 that talked about nice things and nice emotions 915 00:49:12,787 --> 00:49:14,705 and love and caring. 916 00:49:14,747 --> 00:49:16,666 - Barney was never arguing 917 00:49:16,707 --> 00:49:18,710 that the world is a perfect place. 918 00:49:18,751 --> 00:49:21,838 He was arguing that it can be a better place 919 00:49:21,879 --> 00:49:24,841 if we all try to make it a better place. 920 00:49:28,845 --> 00:49:30,805 - One of the cool parallels between, say, 921 00:49:30,847 --> 00:49:35,601 Barney and Mr. Rogers, is that as a child watching, 922 00:49:35,643 --> 00:49:40,064 here you have an adult who is like, just your friend. 923 00:49:40,106 --> 00:49:43,776 Somebody who like, takes the time to look into your eyes 924 00:49:43,818 --> 00:49:47,864 and talk with you and ask you questions, 925 00:49:47,905 --> 00:49:52,702 and it feels like a conversation, like a relationship. 926 00:49:52,744 --> 00:49:55,872 - I think, you know, when you have this relationship 927 00:49:55,913 --> 00:49:58,082 with a character and especially when 928 00:49:58,124 --> 00:49:59,959 it's in a formative time, 929 00:50:00,001 --> 00:50:03,296 there's gonna be nostalgia around that relationship. 930 00:50:03,337 --> 00:50:06,883 - Can you imagine how comforting it feels? 931 00:50:06,924 --> 00:50:10,762 How it feels to be seen and heard 932 00:50:10,803 --> 00:50:11,929 when you're just a little kid 933 00:50:13,723 --> 00:50:15,141 because somebody wants to take the time to talk with you 934 00:50:15,183 --> 00:50:17,643 about your feelings or how you're thinking about things 935 00:50:17,685 --> 00:50:19,312 or to make a joke with you. 936 00:50:19,353 --> 00:50:20,897 That's pretty cool. 937 00:50:20,938 --> 00:50:22,148 - I mean, no matter how you look at it, 938 00:50:22,190 --> 00:50:25,651 Barney was enormously important 939 00:50:25,693 --> 00:50:28,863 to a lot of peoples' early lives. 940 00:50:28,905 --> 00:50:32,992 And I think we all grow up 941 00:50:33,034 --> 00:50:36,037 having a special character that we love, right. 942 00:50:36,079 --> 00:50:38,623 I think we all have a Barney. 943 00:50:39,999 --> 00:50:41,959 Like you, right. 944 00:50:42,001 --> 00:50:46,714 So, who was your Barney growing up? 945 00:50:57,975 --> 00:51:00,186 - Who was my Barney growing up? 946 00:51:00,228 --> 00:51:02,980 I had Barbies, is who was mine. 947 00:51:04,148 --> 00:51:06,234 - Oh, oh, probably my Barney growing up 948 00:51:06,275 --> 00:51:08,236 was probably Mr. Rogers. 949 00:51:08,277 --> 00:51:09,654 - I liked Sesame Street. 950 00:51:09,695 --> 00:51:12,031 So I was really into Bert and Ernie. 951 00:51:12,073 --> 00:51:15,201 - I just, I spent a lot of time as a kid watching, 952 00:51:15,243 --> 00:51:18,079 watching Big Bird and The Count. 953 00:51:18,121 --> 00:51:19,747 (chuckling like The Count) 954 00:51:19,789 --> 00:51:21,207 One, two. 955 00:51:21,249 --> 00:51:23,042 - I guess Kermit. 956 00:51:23,084 --> 00:51:24,377 I like Kermit the Frog. He's cool. 957 00:51:24,419 --> 00:51:26,045 He's so cool. 958 00:51:26,087 --> 00:51:28,673 - Mr. Wizard was my guy. 959 00:51:28,715 --> 00:51:30,299 - For me, it was my little Teddy bear 960 00:51:30,341 --> 00:51:32,051 that kind of got me through, 961 00:51:32,093 --> 00:51:33,136 through the hard times. 962 00:51:34,387 --> 00:51:37,140 - Even today, you know, I still relate to Barney 963 00:51:37,181 --> 00:51:41,102 and the messages that he shares to the world. 964 00:51:42,437 --> 00:51:43,604 - Yeah. 965 00:51:43,646 --> 00:51:46,065 Mine was Grover. 966 00:51:46,107 --> 00:51:48,735 I loved Grover. He was my favorite. 967 00:51:48,776 --> 00:51:53,781 Now imagine that character, imagine a frat party 968 00:51:54,949 --> 00:51:57,994 just full of people hating that character. 969 00:52:00,121 --> 00:52:02,081 I mean, that's like painful, right? 970 00:52:02,123 --> 00:52:03,124 That kind of hurts. 971 00:52:05,084 --> 00:52:07,920 And the things that we love as kids, 972 00:52:07,962 --> 00:52:09,756 to the degree that I understand it, like, 973 00:52:09,797 --> 00:52:13,301 that approaches like, sacred stuff, you know. 974 00:52:13,342 --> 00:52:15,094 And not that you have to love Barney 975 00:52:15,136 --> 00:52:16,929 because other people did, 976 00:52:16,971 --> 00:52:20,308 but I think that it's worth respect. 977 00:52:21,267 --> 00:52:22,101 I do. 978 00:52:27,857 --> 00:52:29,108 - I think there's so much hate right now. 979 00:52:29,150 --> 00:52:30,068 There's just way too much hate. 980 00:52:30,109 --> 00:52:30,985 We need Barney now. 981 00:52:31,027 --> 00:52:34,947 But, you know, we don't live 982 00:52:34,989 --> 00:52:36,657 in Barney's world, unfortunately. 983 00:52:38,159 --> 00:52:43,164 - Anybody who objects to inclusiveness and love, 984 00:52:44,040 --> 00:52:45,291 they need more understanding. 985 00:52:45,333 --> 00:52:46,167 They need a hug. 986 00:52:53,383 --> 00:52:58,346 (TV static) (bright guitar music)