Last year, the World Clown Association had to deal with the bad press of “killer clown” sightings, and now it’s facing even more: the forthcoming blockbuster adaptation of Stephen King‘s It.
The 1986 novel about a homicidal children’s entertainer who lives in the sewer inspired lots of young phobia-havers back in the day, and with the new movie adaptation’s Sept. 8 release date approaching, professional clowns are worried it might be bad for business all over again.
Back in 1990, King caught flack from the clowning community when It was adapted into an ABC miniseries—now the author says “the clowns are pissed.”
World Clown Association President Pam Moody told the Hollywood Reporter that people’s chronic fear of clowns is unfair, at least in comparison to similar performers who dress up as Santa or the Easter Bunny to make a living.
“They’re different from regular people—they’re costumed characters,” she said. “But no one is picking on the Santa Clauses, because that would ruin the retail business. It would ruin Christmas for everybody.”
Moody revealed that the professional clown business has taken a hit since last year’s creepy clown phenomenon, with performers noticing gigs getting scrapped more frequently. She also told the story of a time when a professional clown she knows was waiting in the car ahead of performing at a child’s birthday party. The performer looked up to notice she was suddenly surrounded by police officers who were alerted to a “creepy clown” sighting by a concerned neighbor.
“It all started with the original It,” Moody continued. “That introduced the concept of this character. It’s a science-fiction character. It’s not a clown and has nothing to do with pro clowning.”
For Stephen King’s part, he recently forbid the president from seeing the movie after being blocked by the commander-in-chief on Twitter.
“Donald Trump blocked me on Twitter,” he wrote. “I am hereby blocking him from seeing IT or MR. MERCEDES. No clowns for you, Donald. Go float yourself.”
Donald Trump blocked me on Twitter. I am hereby blocking him from seeing IT or MR. MERCEDES. No clowns for you, Donald. Go float yourself.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) August 25, 2017
If scary clowns are anti-Trump, maybe the press isn’t so bad after all?
No matter what, to combat the current downturn, the World Clown Association has released a helpful guide on how to survive the clown recession titled “WCA Stand on Scary Clowns!!“