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David Joyner might not be the most recognizable name to television fans, but his work as the actor inside the suit of Barney certainly is. Joyner played the benevolent purple dinosaur on “Barney & Friends” for a decade from 1991 to 2001. On a recent episode of the “Generation Barney” podcast (via Entertainment Weekly), he remembered a time when the Ku Klux Klan banned their children from watching “Barney” because Joyner is Black. The actor laughed at such ludicrousness.

“I get a call when I’m doing ‘Barney’ from my hometown news reporter, from the Decatur Herald & Review, and he asked me to comment on an article that was in Esquire magazine,” Joyner said. “I had no idea what he was talking about, so he asked me if I would go get the magazine and then give him a call with a comment. Well, in the magazine, the Klan had found out...

(This story has been edited and truncated to remove quotes that People has removed from its original story.)

Generations of parents and their grandparents run screaming from the room when the sickly sweet strains of Barney’s “I Love You, You Love Me” ooze out of televisions and iPads. But kids hate it just as much — ask any child what they think about that song and listen to them bust out a renegade version.

It’s one thing to disparage the purple dinosaur but some viewers took it to another level. “There were certain things, certain messages that people would send that were pretty threatening,” says Bob West, the original voice of Barney, on the Generation Barney podcast, as reported by People.

Some of those menacing messages came from unexpected places. “If you get a death threat from a middle school child who sends you an email, then it doesn...

Barney is now getting rebooted into an animated series. Barney is the eponymous purple dinosaur who debuted in 1988 with Barney & the Backyard Gang, and became best recognized from the television series Barney & Friends. The series began in 1992 and wrapped in 2010, spanning over 200 episodes. Different actors have worn the Barney suit and provided a voice to the amicable prehistoric character, including Bob West and Dean Wendt as the voice of Barney. West played the role from 1992-2000, with Wendt picking up his work in 2001 and than appearing up until the ending of Barney & Friends.

As per Variety, Barney is now being revived into a new series. The series will take the form of a new animated series premiering on Max, titled Barney's World. Barney's World will be set on a playground, where the titular purple Tyrannosaurus Rex is joined by fellow dinosaurs, Billy and Baby Bop along with their three human children best friends,...

A24, the studio behind Midsommar and Hereditary, is making a live-action Barney movie, and it's being produced by Nope and Get Out star Daniel Kaluuya. However, what might really come as a shock to parents who grew up singing along with Barney and his friends is that this movie is geared toward adults. A24 is not known for kids' fare, and Daniel Kaluuya has gained a reputation for his horror movies with Jordan Peele, so the two coming together to reimagine a family-friendly franchise traditionally geared toward preschoolers could be surefire box-office gold.

However, parents don't need to worry about whether this will be another Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, as this is not going to put a horror spin on the purple dinosaur. Instead, this is just going to be a more adult take on the idea of a giant purple dinosaur befriending children around the world. It...

Two generations of children — and their parents — are familiar with the colossal purple dinosaur that frolicked across their television screens each week. The PBS series “Barney & Friends” amassed 14 seasons between 1992 and 2010 in the course of its lengthy run before coming to a flaming halt.

The reasons for the show’s initial success and accursed demise are outlined in a two-part docuseries from director Tommy Avallone, titled “I Love You, You Hate Me,” which is available for streaming on Peacock on Oct. 12.

With parallels to Sundance award-winner “Feels Good Man,” the 2020 indie documentary about Pepe the Frog that explores how a meme can be transformed from a comedic icon into a hate symbol, “I Love You, You Hate Me” delves into the lesser-known evils of the Barney bashing movement, when teenagers and adults alike began to bastardize the once-beloved character with acts of violence both physically and online.

Other figures...

Pity the purple dinosaur. He came to spread a message of love, and got the stuffing knocked out of him.

I Love You, You Hate Me, the two-part documentary series premiering on Peacock on Wednesday, explores the way Barney became a runaway hit with tots, and how the tubby T-Rex ignited one of the most devastating backlashes in pop culture history.

Director Tommy Avallone admits that as a kid, he too partook in Barney bashing.

“As a teenager, for one of my birthdays I asked my aunt to make me a Barney costume, so my friends and I could beat him up on camera,” he says. “Several years later, creating this docu-series, it feels good to be on the other side and no longer a Barney hater.”

Episode 1 excavates the dinosaur’s origins in the late 1980s. He was the brainchild of Sheryl Leach, a Texas schoolteacher and new mom...