Stuttering Foundation: SNL Skit a 'Huge Step Backwards' for Stuttering Community

MEMPHIS, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Jane Fraser, president of the Stuttering Foundation, www.StutteringHelp.org, made the following comments concerning the Sept. 15, 2012, Saturday Night Live skit ridiculing those who stutter: 

"We are deeply troubled by Saturday Night Live's recent decision to make light of stuttering, a communication disorder faced by more than three million Americans and 68 million people worldwide. The release of The King's Speech was a giant step forward for the stuttering community, bringing understanding and acceptance to those who stutter. SNL's poor judgment was an equally huge step backwards.

"The most troubling part was the obvious research conducted by producers, writers and cast into stuttering, evidenced by their use of the term 'fluency.' They clearly did their homework but chose to overlook the pain felt by many who stutter and their families for just a cheap laugh.

"The Stuttering Foundation supported SNL's Seth Meyers when Donald Trump chose to call him out as a 'stutterer' after the White House Correspondents' dinner. What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

"Not funny, SNL. Not funny at all."

Foundation Spokesperson Jane Fraser
Jane Fraser is president of The Stuttering Foundation and co-author of If Your Child Stutters: A Guide for Parents, 8th edition. She is also vice president of Action for Stammering Children, the Michael Palin Centre, in London.

About the Foundation

Malcolm Fraser, a successful businessman who stuttered, went on to establish and endow the nonprofit Stuttering Foundation in 1947. The Stuttering Foundation provides a toll-free helpline, 800-992-9392, and free online resources on its Website, www.StutteringHelp.org, including services, referrals and support to people who stutter and their families, as well as support for research into the causes of stuttering.

SOURCE The Stuttering Foundation

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