After helping turn so-called “fleeting expletives” at the 2002 and 2003 Billboard Music Awards into the subject of a legal war between the FCC and the broadcast networks that went all the way to the Supreme Court, the Parents Television Council is going again after the music awards show. This time, it is over the opening number of Sunday’s show in Las Vegas: Rihanna and Britney Spears’ performance of S&M. “I cannot imagine what would possibly lead the ABC television network to air a profanity-laced, S&M sex show on primetime broadcast television,” PTC president Tim Winter said. “The overtly sexualized performance by Rihanna and Britney Spears was no accident or mishap, but a deliberate effort to target teens with images and lyrics that glamorize whips, chains and other sexual fetishes. What happened in Vegas should have stayed in Vegas, as the saying goes. It certainly has no place at 8:00 pm on the publicly-owned broadcast airwaves.”
PTC Attacks Billboard Music Awards Over Rihanna & Britney Spears' 'S&M' Song
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Oh what a shock, the PTC has their collective panties in a bunch over something. I really wish the rapture had happened this weekend and this group of ass clowns would have disappeared.
Pretty sure those types would be left behind with the rest of us, unfortunately.
Pretty sure Britney didn’t show up…but her audio track sure did. How do you duet with only one performer singing live? What a joke.
From a personal point of view…the sexuality of contemporary music is okay although more graphic than I would have imagined not too long ago.
It is understandable that parents may be concerned as well, but it is then the responsibility of the parents to keep an eye on the areas which do promote sexuality…and, music is high on this list.
If 2 and a Half Men can run in roughly the same time slot…aren’t we just picking at straws.
This behavior is not so outrageous that the government need to censor it…certainly…not yet. With all due respect to PTC…at what point do you draw the line…or, is the line constantly moving?
Well, the PTC isn’t wrong. I’m a liberal Hollywood elitist but I’m also a father of a young girl. And there seems to be no sense of decency or taste in primetime anymore. Of course I can censor what my kid sees now but by the time she’s old enough she’ll easily find this stuff. Anyone hiding behind freedom of speech in “provocative” entertainment is full of it. You’re sexing it up to sell ad space.
Absolutely agree. I’m also a father and while it’s the parents responsibility to monitor and teach our children, some of the stuff out there is completely outrageous. For all the rants about free speech and artistic expressions, do we really have to do it at the expense of common decency?
I am in nearly the same demographic as you (with a young son rather than a daughter) and you are 100% on the button. And yes, I realize that the responsibility lies with me to monitor my son’s viewing habits, blah, blah, blah. What is truly the most ironic aspect of this debate is that some of the sleaziest and slimiest people to ever walk the face of the earth get to wrap themselves in the First Amendment to justify televising this garbage.
I think you should perhaps read the constitution and if you don’t like what it says leave the country. I have three young children and guess what if I don’t like what’s on the TV I turn off the TV. Take some responsibility.
Thank you. I’m a parent as well, but the notion that we should sacrifice free speech because we don’t agree with the sexuality or morality in the message is more morally disgusting than any form of pornography.
Free speech is NOT an absolute! How about you educate yourself on how the first Amendment and applicable laws actually work.
And you have a screw loose if you think any pornography is more acceptable than a curb on any speech. Really think about what you are saying.
I agree. It’s not seeing those images that disturbs me it’s knowing that little kids are probably seeing them too. Little 13 year old girls who get their cues from their favorite pop stars on TV, in this case the lovely and oh so talented Rehanna and Britney. Sure, pseudo-lesbo S&M leather chicks are always fun to watch but keep it after 10 pm.
And anyway S&M as a club scene or group effort is so passé.
As a father of 2 young children, I am deeply concerned about our freedoms, particularly with regards to the PTC’s constant attempts to dictate what kind of content is morally acceptable. GET A LIFE.
Of the 500+ channels offered, 50 offer 24/7 kids programming. PTC members – Put the cheetohs down and reach for that remote control and TURN THE DAMN CHANNEL! Jeez, be thankful that your kids don’t kick and scream when anything but Dora the Explorer or Wow Wow Wubzy is on the tube.
“Kids, we love you but you need to go play with Thomas the Train for a few minutes while Mommmy and I enjoy a little free S&M.”
You do understand the main issue is with over-the-air channels that lease publicly owned radio space, right? And there is not 500+ of them. If there was a porn convention going on at the National Mall, would you simply “take your kids somewhere else,” or would you be annoyed that public property owned by the commons was being used for something like that?
The answer is YES…take them someplace else.
What if any performance is held in a public facility? Does this mean Eminem or Lady Gaga or whomever cannot appear there because it is owned by the public and their show has been deemed too raunchy for kids.
No…you take your kids to a different show.
So, again, where is the line for all parents with young children? I say it is constantly moving depending on the culture of the moment, and hence, these different daily debates about content occur.
And, by the way, all Victoria’s Secrets will now come out of malls because parents can’t have their children exposed to this kind of sexuality perversity either.
The bottom line is that parents hold the key to what their children can watch and see…not the FCC…not the Congress…not anyone else. As mentioned previously, these awards were on the same hour as Two and one Half Men airs…do you let your children watch this?
It is in the internet, Facebook, Twitter, gaming, Ipod, cell phone and other technology worlds in which your children live (often not monitored) far too much…how are you controlling their access when they can be on a pornography site with the stroke of a key?
And, even if your parental controls do limit these well around the house…what happens the second your children leave the house?
It is a complex world, and with all due respect, parents cannot rely on others to protect their children at this level as the “line” constantly keeps moving mostly by businesses trying to maximize profit from sales.
I don’t understand the point you are trying to make. Yes, the lines are changing and not always for the better.
Said president Tim Winter of the Parents Television Council: “The overtly sexualized performance by Rihanna and Britney Spears was no accident, but a deliberate effort to target teens with images that glamorize whips, chains and other sexual fetishes. You should have seen the erection in my pants. It took two EMT’s, four firemen, and one female, Chinese gymnast to suppress it.”
If charity was given a dollar everytime an article proclaimed the headline “PTC attacks…”, the PTC would single-handedly defeat poverty.
Side Note: I’m a Christian. I think Christians should be known more about what we’re for (life to the fullest, love to the unlovable, and faith and forgiveness found in Christ) instead of what the minority of Christians are against.
I guess those who like their whips and chains will just have to read their Bible.
Ya know, I am so SICK of these washed up hags like Britney, Madonna and now Rhianna who think it’s so “cool” or “groundbreaking” to kiss another girl on TV. Good lord, it grosses ME out, and I’m a freakin’ GUY. If you want lesbo action, get a room and leave the viewing public OUT of it. I stand 100% behind the PTC in this case. ABC should be fined, and these two skanks should be banned from further public displays of grossness.
I enjoyed it. It wasn’t nearly as racy as a half-time show and one of the few highlights of a dull show.
It was by worst the most offensive thing I have ever witnessed on broadcast tv. Those two, young women in very tight clothing that left nothing to the imagination, rubbing their nubile bodies on stripper poles. Grinding their crotches and their perky breasts, popping out like over ripe tomatoes ready to picked. The most horrible part is when their soft, ripe lips pressed and ever so lightly kissed. I had to run to the bathroom to get that sinful image out of my mind.
As a father of two I find myself deeply concerned – concerned that one day organizations such as the PTC will kill whatever’s left of free speech and liberty.
Look, I’m no prude and am a big supporter of art (for adults) that pushes the envelope but The Billboard Music Awards, REALLY? — a show that is supposed to showcase POPULAR music? Yuck and shame ABC and the producers for not seeing it.
If this is indeed the state of pop music, then God help us all.
The PTC has every right ot outraged. And they took the right stance. They weren’t saying that this song and production had no place. They just said it had no place on the public airwaves at 8pm and they are right in my opinion.
Just learn how to be a parent, how to use your tv’s, & change the channel!
Let me guess… you don’t have kids, right?
I’m all for free-spirited artistic expression, but I don’t think these lyrics should be played on KISS FM or aired on any channel during primetime. I didn’t think the song was too bad until I heard the lyrics coming out of the mouth of my 11 year old niece.
I also put a little blame on the artists. Are singers going to sing anything that is offered to them? The lyrics are horrible.
What’s more disturbing than our children watching that performance is that one of those performers is a parent herself. I think Britney has the power to adjust anything she does a little, no?
I really wish the PTC and the FCC would just kill each other off in a Murder/Suicide pact.
ok, the reality is there are many channels on the tv. Turn the damn channel . Rihanna’s act has become very sexualized and as a parent you should know that. You need to be more informed. You can’t have kids and stick you head in the sand and then cry & complain about it . There is plenty of kid friendly programming on tv. I have no trouble finding it and I don’t have kids.
The real reality is that TV is everywhere and, with regards to the big 4 networks, free. Cable channels are slightly less pervasive, but most households have basic cable where the rules are much, much different. Still, basic cable is everywhere as well.
Meaning that it’s not just that parents can turn the channel at home so their kids can’t see something, it’s that a huge number of children (of all ages) are able to watch a TV show unsupervised – not necessarily at home where their parents can turn the channel – of what parents would normally consider a “safe” program. Like the frickin’ Billboard Music Awards. One minute Michael Buble’ is getting an award for best adult contemporary album, then BAM! – lesbian BDSM dancing. WTF?
What’s next – pole ‘dancing’ from the models on “Who Wants to be a Millionaire”?
This isn’t about good or bad parenting. It’s about fair expectations by the parents and responsibility (or lack thereof) from the broadcaster(s).
I’m all for free speech, but that right comes with some responsibility. If said shows/networks choose to go over the line (and that line can change/move but everyone knows what’s appropriate) then they should get fined out their asses – making the prospective ad money irrelevant.
The same holds true for “lifestyle” networks such as MTV. In the ’90s the chairman (woman?) was asked about their responsibility with regards to how they were (and still are) influencing young people [in a very negative way]. The official answer was that they just show what [young people] society wants to see (I paraphrase). Which of course was total bullshit. They knew, as did everyone else, that they absolutely controlled and fed that young society with their content.
And if, by now, people can’t see that skank Spears for what she is, then I feel sorry for those people that they ever gave a damn about her or gave her money. She can’t sing, is a horrible parent, still irresponsible professionally, looks worse every day – why do people look up to her? Rihanna’s not far behind, and Gaga’s coming up fast…
I’m glad I don’t have children.
Well said, bro.
What does the PTC have against chains and whips, anyway? They seem to be pretty into flogging and restraining…
America’s media sucks big time. Tv is perverse. If y’all dont know that then its a shame.
God bless the PTC! They make our jobs so much easier!
Its a song about bondage and sex. I really don’t know what kind of performance this organization and the group of uptight parents responding to this were expecting.
Let’s be honest, everyone, in one way or another, is into the proverbial “whips and chains”. Everyone has their kinks and everyone should just come out of the closet and be open about sexuality and sex.
I hate to break it to you but more likely than not, your 11 and 12 year old child is already having sex and plenty of it, probably more than you. They don’t tell you that because they know what your reaction will be, hateful and filled with judgement. Too bad, because when your 11 year old daughter thinks she’s pregnant or has an std, she has to suffer in silence with no one to turn to.
Allow shows like this one to be conversation starters about sex and sexuality between you and your child where you can control the direction this topic takes. If you don’t take that opportunity, then what they see on TV will be the norm and if they’re not getting it from TV, they sure as hell are from the internet or from their friends or even from the public library.
In the age of the internet, censorship is a loosing game, it’s time to join the 21st century people.
We love what the PTC does to help us out!
The song is hot. The girls looked hot.
You people need to stop being such squares. I vote for more sex and smut on TV all the time. Bring me your nipples, your whips and your cleavage!! Hooray for trashy TV!!
SCUM