Why There’s Controversy Over Kermit The Frog’s New Girlfriend

Lest you thought the summer of celebrity relationship drama was coming to a close, a new scandal (of sorts) has appeared just before the seasons officially turned. And this one may provoke even stronger reactions than the Ben Affleck-Jennifer Garner-nanny fiasco. Yes, yesterday People magazine debuted photos of Kermit the Frog's new girlfriend. Her name is Denise, and she is also a pig. A source told People that Kermit calls Denise, a head of marketing at ABC, "his girlfriend." Now, let's not act like we didn't see this coming. Kermit and Miss Piggy announced that they were splitting in August, and even then Denise was in the picture. Kermit, at that time, confirmed his relationship with Denise to Entertainment Tonight, even though he now seems to be backtracking on that confirmation. What's up with that, Kermit? Emotions are running high after the People report. Some commented that Kermit and Miss Piggy's relationship was an example of "domestic abuse." Others have compared Denise to non-puppet actresses. Pig has been pit against pig in articles commenting on their respective weights. Perez Hilton blasted the headline: "Kermit The Frog Is Dating A Younger & Thinner Muppet Pig — Have Hollywood Standards Officially Gone Too Far?!" Over at The Guardian Megan Carpentier wrote, "apparently Kermit can’t get enough of women like his ex – as long as they’re younger and thinner than her and less successful than him (but still work at ABC, so he can rub her in Miss Piggy’s face)." But others have jumped to Denise's defense, deeming criticisms against her as "slut-shaming." BuzzFeed's Tracy Clayton wrote on Twitter: "STOP SLUT SHAMING DENISE THE PIG BE MAD AT KERMIT, IT WAS HIS JOB TO STAY TRUE TO MISS PIGGY."

It is important to remember that we really don't know much about Denise yet. While we may be inclined to side with Miss Piggy, we're not willing to condemn another woman simply for following her heart. Plus, if you're wondering how Miss Piggy herself is doing amid all this chatter, Liam Hemsworth posted the following photo to Instagram earlier this week. We don't discount that she may be going through some Kermit-related heartache, but there's nothing like a little Hemsworth to clear that up.

(Side note: Where do the other Muppets stand on all of this? Surely Gonzo has something to say? What about Fozzie Bear?) It does makes sense that Denise is head of marketing, because this is all some excellent marketing for The Muppets' new show on ABC, which follows the Muppets work on Miss Piggy's talk show Up Late With Miss Piggy. The show airs in a lineup with Fresh Off The Boat and Dancing With The Stars, but with all this relationship drama, the show might be a better fit on the network's Shondaland block.