The specific origin of this rumor is unknown, but James Lileks of the Minneapolis Star Tribune wrote in 2006 that 'the existence of the Barney Swear Tape is a first-grade urban legend.'īarney & Friends is not broadcast live: A tape of the show is processed and edited before it airs on television. Given that to a small child,Įverything they see of Barney happens to him on camera, the story would quickly flesh out to the dinosaur's having been arrested while the cameras were rolling, the police appearing on set to pull the drugs from his tail and haul him off in dino-cuffs.Īs for the 'Barney cusses on live TV' rumor, it circulates in two forms: That a pain-riddled Barney who had tripped and stubbed his toe let loose with a few profanities, or that an enraged Barney cussed out a child who had unwittingly stepped on his tail during a shoot. 13 grams of cocaine were discovered inside the stuffed animal, more than 30 grams of cocaine in a flower pot, and 5 grams of marijuana in a dresser drawer.Ĭhildren, especially small ones, don't easily grasp small differences - to them, a news story about illicit drugs having been discovered inside a Barney doll during a police raid is likely to be understood as drugs having been found inside Barney the television star himself.

The kids' grandmother and their mother's boyfriend were charged with possession and intent to distribute cocaine, and the youngsters were taken into the care of the state's Department of Children, Youth and Families.

In 2004 in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, more than $2,000 was found inside a plush stuffed Barney doll at an apartment inhabited by a family with five children.

In 2001 in Charleston, West Virginia, four members of the same family pled guilty to federal charges of conspiring to sell cocaine and two prescription painkillers that police had discovered stashed in a Barney doll.

Officers of the law followed the package to its destination, where they arrested three men on federal charges of conspiracy to possess, and intent to distribute, cocaine.

In 1998 at a post office in Texas, a drug-sniffing dog detected two pounds of cocaine hidden inside a talking Barney doll which was being shipped to Waltham, Minnesota.

While most of such playthings have doubtless lived out their guiltless existences being hugged and squeezed by sundry tots, a few stuffed Barneys have been used as drug caches: Like so many other successful television shows, Barney & Friends has spawned various lines of show-related merchandise, including various Barney toys such as plush dolls in the likeness of the purple dinosaur himself. In the case of the rumors about Barney, the source for the rumor about drugs having been found in his tail can likely be laid at the feet of some of his small fans who misunderstood the meaning of various news articles they might have heard about. And ' Steve' of TV's Blue's Clues was said to have died of a heroin overdose, a clear indication that, contrary to his squeaky-clean on-camera image, he'd been deeply into illegal drugs. The radio host Uncle Don was believed to have uttered 'There that ought to hold the little bastards' into a live mike at the conclusion of one of his shows when he thought the station was no longer broadcasting.

Rogers was a convicted child molester or had served in the armed forces as a sniper and thus had dispatched many to their graves. Back fence gossip asserted the genial Mr. The rumors' presentation of Barney as a nefarious character who deals drugs or secretly hates children runs contrary to his steadfast image of wholesomeness and trustworthiness.īaseless rumors of similar denigrating nature have plagued other children's hosts cherished for their friendliness and sincerity. It's not the funny costume or the songs that make the show a success it's the friendliness and constant optimism of the show's purple host. Two common rumors about Barney (police uncovered a cache of illegal drugs secreted in the rotund dinosaur's tail, or the endlessly loving and patient children's host roundly cussed out a hapless tyke) strike at the heart of Barney's appeal to the smaller set.

Barney's is a loveable persona, and the children he interacts with as part of the show happily sing and dance along with him, looking upon him as a much-admired friend. Barney, the purple dinosaur from television's Barney & Friends, has been on the air since 1992, hosting a show which uses song and dance to teach preschool tots in an environment of warmth and caring.

Guy who wore barney costume