--- title: The World Clown Association Is Worried About the Movie It description: The big-screen adaptation of the Stephen King thriller, which comes out Sept. 8, does not reflect particularly well on their profession. canonical: https://time.com/4921938/world-clowns-sad-it/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-08-30T16:59:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T09:32:02.419Z og:title: The World Clown Association Is Worried About 'It' og:description: The Stephen King movie adaptation doesn't reflect well on their profession og:url: https://time.com/4921938/world-clowns-sad-it/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt06c4522e2eb39caa/6988a9e90b72e30ee06eb58e/ap_790516347954.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2232 og:image:height: 1256 og:image:alt: Clown craze og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The World Clown Association Is Worried About 'It' twitter:description: The Stephen King movie adaptation doesn't reflect well on their profession twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt06c4522e2eb39caa/6988a9e90b72e30ee06eb58e/ap_790516347954.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The World Clown Association Is Bracing for the Release of _It_ > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=278bb71d-1fce-4dfa-9359-61cc61f36847&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: IT - Official Teaser Trailer [Watch (HLS stream): IT - Official Teaser Trailer](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/v8JSQCiT.m3u8) (2:32)  _Published 2017-08-28. IT - Official Teaser Trailer_  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Aug 30, 2017 4:59 PM UTC  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Aug 30, 2017 4:59 PM UTC Thanks to a proliferation of bad press, professional clowns are having a rough go of it lately. Their new challenge: battling the negative associations that are about to resurface with the new film adaptation of Stephen King’s [horror novel _It_](http://time.com/4816499/stephen-king-trump-block-rowling/), out in theaters Sept. 8. “Last year we were really blindsided,” World Clown Association president Pam Moody told the [_Hollywood Reporter_](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/movie-causing-legit-clowns-lose-work-1033435) of 2016’s spate of [evil clown sightings](http://time.com/4520149/clown-attack-sighting-craze-history/). She said that the association has created a press kit to help clowns prepare for the movie. “Even the character in the movie ‘IT’ should be understood to be a fantasy character — not a true clown,” reads a line in the press kit. According to Moody, clowns lost work at schools and libraries thanks to the [scary sightings](http://time.com/4513100/psychology-of-creepy-clowns/). And with _It_‘s terrifying [Pennywise](http://time.com/4740804/pennywise-meme-2017/) about to come back in full form to the silver screen, they’re gearing up again to face an unwanted backlash against their chosen character roles. For his part, Stephen King is sorry — but not about his story. In a tweet shared back in April, King explained his view: “Kids have always been scared of clowns,” he wrote. “Don’t kill the messengers for the message.” > [](https://twitter.com/stephenking/status/851530958822154242) ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] There you go, she's already captain. Thanks Billy. [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] NO! [ NOISE ] [ MUSIC ] [ NOISE ] Derry's not like any town I've ever been in before. People To higher disappear six times the national average, and that's just grownups, kids are worse. [ MUSIC ] Way, way worse. [ MUSIC ] We all float down here. [ SOUND ] I just saw something. There was this [ MUSIC ] Yeah I saw him too. Look, it's all connected by the sewers. That's where it lives. [ MUSIC ] [ INAUDIBLE ] [ MUSIC ] [ NOISE ] If you come with me you will fly too. You'll float too, you'll float too, you'll float too, you'll float too! 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