Commentators were incensed after the new show The Prince, depicting Prince George as a spoilt child, was released in the US by broadcaster HBO. It shows the young royal – who is just eight years old – and his fictional trials and tribulations behind the walls of Buckingham Palace, with the likes of his parents Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, both appearing as well.
The Prince makes a number of jokes aimed towards other royals including the Queen, Prince Harry, and Meghan Markle, but many fans of the Firm were unhappy that George was the main target, due to his age.
It led to a huge debate on shows such as ITV’s Good Morning Britain (GMB), where Dr. Shola Mos-Shogbamimu argued the satirical cartoon was “not funny” and that children were “off-limits” when it came to ridiculing.
Although the royals are unlikely to speak out on this, royal commentator Howard Hodgson – author of titles such as ‘The King and Di: The True Story’ – argued this type of cartoon wouldn’t be as damaging for the Royal Family as The Crown.
Last year, The Crown saw a wave of criticism directed at Prince Charles after his portrayal as the cheating husband of Princess Diana in its fourth season.
It led figures in Parliament to demand the show come with a warning that scenes from the drama were fictionalized, something Netflix bosses said didn’t need to happen.
Speaking to Express.co.uk, Mr. Hodgson said: “They expect it and they don’t get too upset about it.
“And in the case of Harry, quite disgracefully, because Netflix is paying him a lot of money, when he decided he wanted to be on his own, left alone to get on with his life, and then promptly decides to go on Oprah Winfrey twice, there’s this situation at that point in time of actually saying what a complete inaccurate load of tosh The Crown was. Because it is.
“I mean, anyone who knows anything about the Royal Family knows, that was completely inaccurate, that just got worse.”
He added: “They just said everyone knows it’s just fiction, but that’s the problem – people don’t know that it’s fiction. And I think The Crown is vastly more damaging than, say a cartoon version of Prince George.
Mr. Janetti has spent years in the TV business, previously working on programs in the US like Will & Grace and Family Guy.
But criticism of the show has not been limited to just British commentators and viewers.
A producer at Disney, argued, “it’s one thing for filmmakers to play fast and loose with the truth in shows like The Crown but poking fun at a [then] seven-year-old child seems cruel and unfair”.
They added: “Some things should be off-limits. It’s morally wrong to use a child to get cheap laughs.”
Meanwhile, Kayleigh Donaldson of Pajiba, criticized Mr. Janetti, saying that the series “lacks intent and appropriate targets”.
Describing his Instagram account, on which Mr. Janetti has mocked the young royal for a while, Ms. Donaldson said: “It’s just posted after post of a 54-year-old man pretending to be a child so that he can spew the mundane level of misogyny that both the general public and the royal media already deal in.”