World Clown Association president Randy Christensen has said that he never considers horror clowns - like "American Horror Story: Freak Show's" Twisty the Clown - as real clowns.
"Technically, I don't even refer to horror clowns as clowns," Christensen, who performs as Oxford P. Nuts among other names, told Vulture in a recent interview. "They're horror characters."
"'American Horror Show' [sic] - I think for the first season, they had Santa Claus with an ax," he said, referring to the first installment of the FX anthology series subtitled as "Murder House." "Is that what Santa's really like? No. People use their imaginations different ways, but we're proponents of good, clean, wholesome, family-friendly, cheerful comedy."
When asked if scary clowns aren't real clowns, Christensen replied, "People need to realize that there are different entertainment venues. We understand there's a horror genre and some people really love being scared, but our goal is not to bring screams. Our goal is to bring laughs and smiles."
"Comic relief is something that encourages people, edifies people, helps relieve stress. The horror genre doesn't relieve stress - it brings stress," he explained.
Christensen added that unlike a real clown, "the horror clown invades people's space for shock value."
"If you had a doctor at a haunted house standing there with a chainsaw, you understand he's not really a doctor. We look at clowning in the same way," Christensen added. "These horror clowns creep me out, and I'm a clown. Kids aren't equipped to deal with those images."
Earlier this month, Clowns of America International - the country's biggest professional clown club - expressed their displeasure with the nightmare-inducing portrayal of clowns in "American Horror Story: Freak Show."
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published on Oct. 15, Glenn Kohlberger, president of Clowns of America International said that Twisty the Clown's portrayal induces coulrophobia or fear of clowns.
"Hollywood makes money sensationalizing the norm," Kohlberger said. "They can take any situation no matter how good or pure and turn it into a nightmare. We do not support in any way, shape or form any medium that sensationalizes or adds to coulrophobia or 'clown fear.'"
Though Twisty the Clown is a murderous clown, John Carroll Lynch, the actor who plays role, said the character has lot of humanity that viewers will learn about as the season progresses.
In an interview with BuzzFeed last month, Lynch explained that Twisty the Clown's "actions are horrific, but his motives are really strangely, oddly pure, and that's what is most human and most disturbing about it."
"I don't intend to advocate for the horrific characters, but I hope they reflect humanity at its most vicious because we need to really look at ourselves and see it," he added. "You can have the most wonderful motives for what you do, but if what you do harm other people, you're fooling yourself. I hope that's what people get out of [this character]."