Editing Freaks (1932 film) (section)

== In popular culture ==
Browning and the film are mentioned in the 1974 [[David Bowie]] song "[[Diamond Dogs (song)|Diamond Dogs]]".<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zaMlCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA95|title = Experiencing David Bowie: A Listener's Companion|isbn = 9781442237520|last1 = Chapman|first1 = Ian|date = September 2015| publisher=Rowman & Littlefield }}</ref>

The song "Pinhead" (1977) by the punk-rock band [[Ramones]] was inspired by ''Freaks'', which the band saw in [[Cleveland, Ohio]], after their gig was cancelled. [[Joey Ramone|Joey Ramone's]] brother [[Mickey Leigh]] said that the line "Gabba Gabba, we accept you, we accept you one of us" was specifically taken from the scene in which "the midget groom does a dance on the banquet table and sings 'Gooble gobble, we accept you, one of us' to his bride." The song is an audience participation song, and during live performances, Leigh used to run out on stage with  a big sign that bore the text "Gabba Gabba, Hey" and pass it to Joey who'd hold it up urging the crowd to join in. The song was featured on their album ''[[Leave Home]]''.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Leigh|first1=Mickey|author-link1=Mickey Leigh|last2=McNeil|first2=Legs|author-link2=Legs McNeil|title=I Slept With Joey Ramone: A Punk Rock Family Memoir|publisher=Touchstone Books|location=New York City|isbn=978-1439159750|year=2009}}</ref>

The [[professional wrestling]] [[Glossary of professional wrestling terms#stable|stable]] ''[[The Oddities (professional wrestling)|The Oddities]]'', active in the [[WWE|World Wrestling Federation]] from 1998-1999, were presented as freak show performers. Their entrance video featured clips from ''Freaks'', set to music performed by the [[Insane Clown Posse]]. The song and video celebrated the film's message, that these "freaks" were decent and earnest and that the so-called "normal" people were bad.<ref name="BehindthePaint398">{{cite book|last=Bruce|first=Joseph|authorlink=Violent J|author2=Hobey Echlin |editor=Nathan Fostey|title=ICP: Behind the Paint|url=https://archive.org/details/icpbehindpaint00viol|url-access=registration|year=2003|edition=2nd|publisher=Psychopathic Records|location=Royal Oak, Michigan|isbn=0-9741846-0-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/icpbehindpaint00viol/page/398 398–413]|chapter=Taking Bumps}}</ref><ref>{{citeweb|title=The Oddities Entrance Video I WWE|date=19 July 2013|website=wwe.com|url=https://www.wwe.com/videos/the-oddities-entrance-video|access-date=17 March 2025}}</ref>

The song "Separated Out" (2001) from the album [[Anoraknophobia]] by the UK band [[Marillion]] features several samples from the movie.

In ''[[The Wolf of Wall Street (2013 film)|The Wolf of Wall Street]]'', Jordan Belfort and associates chant 'Gooble gobble, we accept you, one of us' while making plans for a darts tournament that involves throwing little people at a target.<ref>{{cite video |title=Wolf of Wall Street - Freaks, "One of us" Scenes compared |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWKlcSs9yEk |access-date=December 31, 2023}}</ref>

The film was mentioned in the third season episode of ''[[The Sopranos]]'', "[[University (The Sopranos)|University]]," when the character Caitlin expresses disgust at her classmates' callous reaction to characters in the film.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Seitz |first1=Matt Zoller |last2=Sepinwall |first2=Alan |author1-link=Matt Zoller Seitz |author2-link=Alan Sepinwall |title=The Sopranos Sessions: A Conversation with David Chase |date=2019 |publisher=[[Abrams Books|Abrams]] |isbn=9781683355267 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fh5zDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT208 |access-date=May 13, 2022}}</ref>