'Simpsons' parody said to upset Fox News

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LONDON, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- The creator of "The Simpsons" says the Fox News cable channel threatened to sue the Fox Entertainment show because of a bit of political parody.

But, Matt Groening said, the news channel backed down rather than sue itself. He said the flap was over a "Simpson" parody of a Fox News rolling news ticker that included such headlines as "Do Democrats cause cancer?" "Study: 92 percent of Democrats are gay" and "Oil slicks found to keep seals young, supple."

Fox News denied ever contemplating legal action, the London Guardian said.

Groening said Fox now has a rule that says, "We can't do those little fake news crawls on the bottom of the screen in a cartoon because it might confuse the viewers into thinking it's real news."