The Controversial Hannah Montana Episode That Had Parents Furious
Time and time again, Disney has tried to lightly tackle serious issues on its kid-friendly shows. For instance, in a 2005 episode of "That's So Raven," titled "True Colors," Raven doesn't get hired at a clothing store because of her race (via IMDb). Meanwhile, in 2015, a character named Isadora Smackle revealed that she has Asperger's syndrome in an episode of "Girl Meets World."
"Hannah Montana" similarly tackled the tricky subject of grief on a few different occasions, due to its main character, Miley Stewart (Miley Cyrus), being raised by her father after her mother's untimely passing. Throughout the show, Miley dreams of being reunited with her mother, sings songs to honor her memory, and learns more about her from her father, Robby Ray (Billy Ray Cyrus).
The show also addressed bullying in the Season 1 episode "The Idol Side of Me," which follows Miley as she comes to feel empathy for high school mean girl Ashley Dewitt (Anna Maria Perez de Tagle). The commercially successful show took a wrong turn, however, in a Season 3 episode centered on Miley's best friend, Oliver Oken (Mitchell Musso).
Parents were upset by a Season 3 episode of Hannah Montana
In a Season 3 episode of "Hannah Montana," Oliver is diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. The original episode, titled "No Sugar, Sugar," involves Miley and best friend Lilly Truscott (Emily Osment) doing whatever they can to stop Oliver from eating sugar. In reality, Type 1 diabetics are allowed to eat sugar, so long as they monitor their blood sugar levels (via American Diabetes Association).
According to Parade, members of the Children with Diabetes group saw the episode early and were upset at the show's potentially dangerous portrayal of the health condition. The episode was subsequently pulled from the air and retitled, "Uptight (Oliver's Alright)." Ahead of the episode's U.S. release, Disney also cut scenes showing Miley and Lilly keeping Oliver from eating sweets at a birthday party.
In "No Sugar, Sugar," Oliver tells Miley and Lilly that he wants to eat sugar but cannot have it because of his condition. Meanwhile, in "Uptight (Oliver's Alright)," he tells the girls that he has Type 1 diabetes and plainly states that he can have sugar as long as he routinely checks his blood sugar levels.
At the end of the episode, Cyrus, Musso, and Osment address the audience directly and share important facts about diabetes.