Holy !$#@$?!, it looks like TV stations and networks are going to have to start paying up if more salty-tongued celebrities accidentally drop f-bombs in prime time. Today, the Supreme Court (barely) ruled in favor of the FCC in its quest to clean up the airwaves before 10 p.m. The much-anticipated ruling — which also paves the way for more deliberation on the issue in the lower courts — stems from a battle between the FCC and the Fox TV Stations over the use of "fleeting expletives" during live awards show telecasts in 2002 and 2003 (hi, Cher, embedded below, and Nicole Richie!).
Purging the scripted shows of sailor talk is one thing (and even in that instance, personally, I’m fine with the occasional "bulls—" showing up in a gritty cop show), but I think the FCC should back off if a gob-smacked celebrity lets a naughty word slip when he’s, say, accepting his first-ever Golden Globe. Sadly, moments like that don’t really happen anymore; thanks to Janet Jackson, live telecasts on the Big Four are on a multi-second delay, so any slip of the tongue will be bleeped before the faint of heart can lodge his complaint to Brent freakin’ Bozell. I mourn the loss of those moments; they were spontaneous and fun and absolutely harmless. Unfortunately, the High Court did its best yesterday to make sure those moments will be few and far between.
What do you think? Do you think the justices f—ed up on this one? Are your sensibilities offended when someone like McLovin accidentally drops the f-bomb on Jimmy Kimmel Live?
I’m so glad that while our entire economy is collapsing and we’re all about to die from the swine flu, the Supreme Court is discussing Nicole Richie’s F-bomb on the Billboard Music Awards. Thanks, Republicans!
So let me get this straight – it’s not okay to swear on TV before 10 pm but you can have all the violence and guns you want all day and night? America needs to think….
America never ceases to amaze me.
The Sopranos was shown on CTV in all it’s f-bomb glory from 10pm for years and guess what? Civilization as we know it didn’t collapse.
You are an idiot. Republicans have nothing to do with this. Maybe you should turn off the TV and pick up a couple magazines and you’ll learn how to speak for yourself and not regurgitate what the rest of the Obamabots are telling you.
To ToRayT, so Republicans have nothing to do with the effort to “clean up” the airwaves? They’ve been at this for decades, long before you learned to regurgitate the word “Obamabot” after Anne Coulter told you to use it right after the chapter in which she told you evolution isn’t real.
It certainly bothers me to hear cursing on tv shows, especially when it’s an award show or sporting event that I might be watching with my kids.
I am sure little 8 year olds use more colorful language than what they would hear on TV with or without ridiculous FCC regulations. I don’t know who they’re trying to protect.
Umm… “ToRayT” – Republicans actually have everything to do with this. Sorry. This is a case where party lines are totally justified.
While this certainly isn’t the biggest issue of the day, I don’t see why we can’t expect celebrities to refrain from this type of language in certain forums. If I was accepting an award in my workplace in front of everyone I knew, I wouldn’t talk like this. Most of us know when to use this type of language (having drinks with the girls, hanging out with our spouse) and know when to refrain (talking to my grandmother, my boss, my children). No, it won’t kill anyone to hear the f*bomb, but it really isn’t helping anyone either. I get the impression that we think that this is “cool”, just like we did in the 4th grade, when we would use it out of hearing of parents and teachers.
First- could Lynette have picked a longer clip to demonstrate this topic? Second- Cher didn’t accidently let the F-bomb slip; it was clearly something she chose to say. With so many other mediums to express your thoughts, do we really need to have cursing on TV? Snarf- you had to PAY to see The Sopranos; it wasn’t just available to flip on. Meso Soup- I don’t think anyone is saying guns and violence is okay b/c swearing is not okay; they’re only saying swearing is not okay. Maybe guns & violence is on next week’s docket. And RayT, Dude, calm the f down about Swine Flu. Or panic and look like an idiot to all the rationale people.
I don’t want to hear that garbage. I don’t have a problem with shows like the Sopranos and such where you know the language will be bad, becuase I can avoid them. I do have a problem with award shows where I have no idea a celebrity has a dirty mouth. I would rather see them have some class and grace. If I can go without swearing, and all the people I interact with at work and in my daily life can do it so can they. Good for the FCC and the Supreme Court.
I personally think bad language on TV is the last thing they should be worrying about if their goal is to clean up TV before 10:00. They’re OK with kids watching the sexual content and the violent content w/o having any repercussions, but a four-letter-word is going to send the kid to therapy for the rest of his/her life? Please. Those kids are going to be harmed more in the commercials alone (male enhancement, female pleasure products, condoms, etc.) than they ever will from a four letter word.
This shouldn’t be about political lines. It should be about people knowing how to behave in public. I don’t want to hear you dropping bombs in the next booth at Applebees either. Learn how to talk without having to resort to lowest-common-denominator speech patterns.
RayT, Swine flu is not going to “kill us all,” as you suggested: http://www.salon.com/env/vital_signs/2009/04/27/swine_flu/index.html
As has been mentioned before, how do you people that are against “foul” language on TV shows react to the violence?