CBS’ ‘Mom’ Donates Emmy Campaign Budget to Planned Parenthood

CBS comedy Mom is forgoing an Emmy campaign.

In lieu of spending $250,000 on campaigning for TV’s highest honor, Mom creator Chuck Lorre and two-time Emmy winner Allison Janney announced Thursday that the funds will instead be donated to support Planned Parenthood.

The powerful statement of support, Janney and Lorre (The Big Bang Theory) unveiled the plan on CBS This Morning, encouraging fans of the show and beyond to support Planned Parenthood.

Appearing on CBS This Morning to talk about the upcoming 2017-2018 CBS lineup, including Young Sheldon and new seasons of The Big Bang Theory and Mom, Lorre and Janney explained why they chose to make the donation.

Lorre said when he was discussing Mom‘s Emmy campaign with the show’s studio, Warner Bros. Television, he “blurted out, ‘Let’s give the money to Planned Parenthood.’ And they took me seriously.”

He later added, “It’s not a statement about the Emmys, we’d love to be included, but it just seemed like such a better way to put that money to work.”

For her part, Janney said, “It makes sense because our show is all about women, and we don’t shy away from issues that affect women and families. And Planned Parenthood is such an important organization that helps give health services to millions of women and it’s in danger. The House of Representatives voted to defund it. And it’s such a critical time. It made sense that we stand up now and say something and encourage other people to donate to this organization.”

Lorre and Janney were both wearing Planned Parenthood pins and Janney was wearing an “I Stand With Planned Parenthood” t-shirt, which she showed off.

The news comes as the U.S. Senate is mulling legislation that would block low-income patients from going to Planned Parenthood for preventative care (like birth control and cancer screenings).

“In Los Angeles County alone, we answer approximately 2,000 calls each day from people asking us for help,” said Planned Parenthood L.A. CEO Sue Dunlap. “Across the country, millions of women and men are relying on Planned Parenthood health centers for their basic care — like birth control, life-saving cancer-screenings, and STD testing and treatment. We are committed to being here for them, no matter what. Generous support from our community fuels this work, and we are honored that the team behind Mom is launching this campaign at this critical time.”

The donation — which stems from funds earmarked for awards campaigning from Mom producers Warner Bros. Television — comes as Mom has scored four Emmy nominations in its four-season run. Janney has won two of the three times she has been nominated.

Many networks and studios, like Warner Bros. Television, spend hundreds of thousands of dollars campaigning and competing for awards season as critical acclaim can boost interest in programming in a cluttered landscape of more than 450 scripted originals.  

Co-created by Lorre, Mom has tackled serious subjects including substance abuse, addiction, suicide and more. The comedy revolves around a single mother (Anna Faris) trying to get her life back on track after years of questionable choices with her own mom (Janney) regularly testing her limits as they strive to build a better life for their family.

Janney and her family have supported Planned Parenthood and its Los Angeles affiliate for generations. Lorre, meanwhile, has been a long-standing benefactor of the Venice, Calif., Family Clinic where he established the Robert Levine Family Health Center in his father’s name. Faris, for her part, supports the Global Alliance to Prevent Premature and Stillbirths.