‘The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder’ goes viral, earns praise for autism depiction

A recent clip from “The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder” has gone viral for its depiction of autism, earning praise for its honest handling of a character’s diagnosis and the family’s reactions to it.

Since its original run, “The Proud Family” has never shied away from real-life circumstances and situations, depicting refreshing and authentic portrayals of Black American family life. In the powerful clip, Penny Proud (Kyla Pratt), Trudy (Paula Jai Parker) and Oscar (Tommy Davidson) are in a meeting with Bebe and Cece’s teacher (Holly Robinson Peete in a voice role).

While discussing Penny’s younger sibling’s performance in school, the teacher explains that Bebe has shown signs of being on the autism spectrum. What follows is a range of reactions from the Proud family. Oscar quickly becomes frustrated, while Trudy calms him down.

“Look Mr. Proud, my evaluation shows Bebe is highly intelligent, extremely curious and absolutely fearless, the last of which I suspect is because he doesn’t process pain like you and I do,” she explains in the clip. “All an autism diagnosis means is Bebe will need a little extra effort and attention.”

As theGrio previously reported, Peete’s son Rodney Peete Jr. (RJ), is on the autism spectrum, and the actress has been outspoken about breaking the stigma surrounding it.

The clip has received an outpouring of love on social media. Viewers have praised the show for addressing autism head-on, explaining it so thoughtfully and carefully and also showing the various truthful reactions many families have when first dealing with a diagnosis.

Praise for the series also comes amid backlash from conservative outlets regarding its content, including a recent Juneteenth episode that tackled race in America, the history of slavery in this country and reparations. The pushback from far right, “anti-woke” accounts online have characterized the series as “anti-white propaganda.”

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones tweeted a response to the far-right criticism. “Because talking about the history of slavery in America is apparently anti-white,” she wrote. “Kids should watch Black characters unless those characters talk about the experience of being Black. During Black History Month. Amazing clip, by the way.”

“The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder” is currently streaming on Disney+.

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