James Bobin, director of the hit children’s movie The Muppets, defended his stars – Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy – saying the iconic puppets are not communists.

Commentators on Fox Business News sparked controversy – and some outrage -when they claimed the new movie is liberal propaganda because the villain is an oil executive named Tex Richman.

James Bobin says the remarks were from two commentators trying to fill airtime.

“Cable news is 24 hours long so you have to fill it up with something. No, the Muppets are not communist,” James Bobin told the Hollywood Reporter.

James Bobin, director of the hit children's movie The Muppets, defended his stars - Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy - saying the iconic puppets are not communists

In a segment on the Fox Business News show Follow the Money, host Eric Bolling asked guest Dan Gainor whether the movie was liberal propaganda.

“This oil muppet, evil man that he is, is called Tex Richman,” Eric Bolling said.

“It’s amazing how low the left will go just to stoop to give your kids the anti-corporate message,” Dan Gainor replied.

Later in the segment Eric Bolling asks: “Is liberal Hollywood using class warfare to brainwash our kids?”

The answer, James Bobin says, is absolutely not.

“It’s a very strange turn of events to hear a question like that,” he said.

“And the character of Tex Richman is not an allegory for capitalism in any way. The character is called Tex Richman. It’s a joke. Clearly he is a classic, old school bad guy. He’s bad not because he works for an oil company but because he’s evil. No, it’s not a communist movie in any way.”

James Bobin was at the Dubai Film Festival in the United Arab Emirates when he spoke out about the accusations against Jim Henson’s famous muppets.

The director also dished on working with the infamously difficult Miss Piggy: “She was a doll… obviously.”

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