Get Over Your Fear With These 5 Completely Harmless Clowns
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American Horror Story: Freak Show premiered last week and introduced a terrifying villain in the form of a psychopathic, serial-killing clown named Twisty. While it seems to be all good with most AHS fans, there's a group of real-life clowns that are not chuckling about it. Glenn Kohlberger, the president of Clowns of America International, spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about how Twisty is making them look bad. He said, "Hollywood makes money sensationalizing the norm. They can take any situation no matter how good or pure and turn it into a nightmare . . . We do not support in any way, shape or form any medium that sensationalizes or adds to coulrophobia or 'clown fear.'" We can probably all agree that clowns have a creepy connotation, but there are a handful of pop culture jesters that are completely harmless. Here are four famous clowns you can feel totally safe around (and one that's up for debate).
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Krusty the Clown
The Simpsons' Herschel Shmoikel Pinchas Yerucham Krustofski, better known as Krusty, is guilty of a lot of things — drinking, smoking, laziness, irresponsibility, and a general disdain for children — but he's not really scary.
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Homey D. Clown
In Living Color's Homey — expertly played by Damon Wayans — isn't totally benign (he is technically an ex-con, and he does have a habit of hitting people over the head with a sock full of pennies), but he isn't going to haunt your dreams, either. Do keep in mind, though: he doesn't play that.
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Jack Box
There's no possible way you could be scared of Jack Box — he's married, he has a kid, he sells delicious tacos and breakfast sandwiches, and he has a human body. You can learn more about him on his official Wikipedia page, but you can't be afraid of Jack Box because we are all Jack Box.
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Fizbo
The character of Fizbo the clown on Modern Family was inspired by the fact that actor Eric Stonestreet, who plays Cam on the show, actually used to perform as a clown. "Fizbo" was a nickname that his dad gave him, and the garb that Stonestreet wears on the show is his real-life clown clothes. Now that you know the sweet and lovable Stonestreet is underneath all that makeup, how can you be afraid?
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Ronald McDonald
It can be argued that a giant clown isn't the best way to coax children into eating fast food, which is why we're on the fence about Ronald McDonald's fear-inducing factor. He comes across as a really fun, playful dude, but there's something about those eyebrows that we aren't completely sold on — even after all these years.