Nickelodeon explains why 'Kwarantined Krab' was pulled from 'SpongeBob' rotation

Nickelodeon has decided that art shouldn't always imitate life.

IGN first reported March 27 that an episode from SpongeBob Squarepants's current 12th season titled "Kwarantined Krab" will not air as previously scheduled. 

An unnamed representative from the network provided the same statement to IGN and Deadline: "The ‘Kwarantined Crab’ (sic) centers on a virus storyline, so we have decided to not air it due to sensitivities surrounding the global, real-world pandemic." According to Deadline, the episode's plot centered around a Krusty Krab health inspector detecting a case of "Clam Flu," causing everybody to quarantine inside the restaurant. 

Interestingly, and sort of ironically, IMDb lists the next Season 12 episode of SpongeBob—scheduled to air April 5—to be "Lighthouse Louie/Hiccup Plague": "Spongebob cleans up the Boating School's lighthouse where he meets a cute but uncomfortable companion Hiccup Plague: No one is safe from a case of contagious hiccups."

For 22 years, fans have watched SpongeBob, Patrick Star, Squidward Tentacles, Sandy Cheeks, Mr. Krabs, and more, navigate every scenario imaginable under the sea in Bikini Bottom. The revolutionary cartoon was created by Stephen Hillenburg, who passed away from ALS in November 2018, and debuted in 1999.