Barney the Dinosaur Got Death Threats, Voice Actor Claims

Back in the 1990s, Barney the dinosaur was a huge hit for children on television. Now, a new docuseries called “I Love You, You Hate Me,” is exploiting a disturbing dark side surrounding the beloved purple character. Bob West, the original voice of Barney, told Inside Edition’s Ann Mercogliano there were even death threats. “There was group called Jihad Against Barney,” he said. He feels that Barney stood for “inclusion, understanding, compassion, caring for each other.”

[amethystsavage]

Imagine having so little going on in your life that you start a group to send death threats against a purple dinosaur in a kids show

[Trund]

Hearing Barney sing “I love you” was probably the only time some kids heard that phrase. That’s the bitter truth. Barney was more wholesome than the weirdos who hated him. I guarantee it wasn’t little kids.

[VikoMan]

I’ve met Bob West in person at a convention, He was very kind and wasn’t negative in any way. I can’t believe people would send a person like him death threats.

[llamaporg]

HOW CAN ANYONE WANT TO HURT ANOTHER PERSON. Even if your not a fan of the show YOU DO NOT send death threats to anybody. The show is a wonderful example for kids to be kind to themselves and others. I can’t believe people like this exist. I pray that the creator, anyone else working on the show, and the voice actor will forever be safe and live there lives happily.

[princessberry]

I have adored Barney ever since I was a little girl. The fact that the actor got death threats is extremely upsetting and heartbreaking. He didn’t deserve this…

[diamondmoon]

That is purely upsetting. Barney is an international treasure.

[kaileemccarley]

I'm a 2000s kid and I LOVED Barrny growing up and hearing this makes my heart hurt so bad my inner child is crying 😭

[ihin]

This is so saddening.. how can such an innocent, empathic character be hated?

[jeremiahanthony]

As a 1999 born baby . Barney made my childhood

[hannahallen]

I grew up with Bareny as a child in the 90s and I enjoyed him. Honestly, what is wrong with people? Seriously?! Why do people feel the need to tear someone or something down for no good reason?! It's not only sickening but pointless.

[Ladybuggames]

It's scary how Bob West is being so calm about all of this.

[vivainecanmarr]

I loved watching Barney as a kid. I don’t know why people would hate such a lovable character!

[meadowsweetstories]

I remember all of this crazy hate happening and it was so disturbing that people would go to such hateful extremes...over a childhood character. My son's loved Barney when they were little. When we ended up in a domestic violence shelter with literally nothing but the clothes we were wearing, my youngest was devastated that he couldn't bring his Barney doll. He took that doll with him everywhere. A volunteer at the shelter gave him a new Barney doll and the Barney's Great Adventure movie. Barney was more than a fictitious character on a kids show to us. Barney was a comfort for a 1 and 5 year old that just had their lives turned upside down.

[abbylaska]

I remember singing songs like “let’s get together and kill Barney” when I was younger but the fact that people do this to a REAL person is absolutely disgusting. No body should ever receive death threats

[bee_]

Imagine the voice actor actually brought Barney to life to teach those people who were threatening him a lesson

[courthebrave]

This breaks my heart 😞 Barney was a huge chunk of my childhood. My dad still remembers all the songs because we played the cassette tapes over & over again. It’s sad to see so much hate in the world for something so innocent. 😩

[alisonjones]

I remember “hating” Barney as a kid but I would never ever wish literal DEATH on anyone😭 what’s wrong with people

[chandlerharrison]

The fact that a lot of people hated Barney is really upsetting cause that character deserved to be loved

[ogknitely]

I'm a 2000s kid but I watched Barney all the time. I can't believe people hated him. He was awesome

[keonjames]

I never imagined hearing “Barney” and “death threats” in the same sentence