FCC fights f…ing (fleeting) expletives - update

Posted on September 29, 2007 | Filed Under digital content 

FCC Compliance

Just a brief update on an issue a litle bit outside the usual scope of this blog: The FCC’s fight against the use of some words deemed “indecent or profane” - as discussed earlier in this blog - may reach the Supreme Court of the United States. The US Government has decided that “cow shit in a Prada purse”, when mentioned on TV, is an issue well worth the attention of the highest judges in the land (because of the “S-word”, of course, not because of the product placement!). As SCOTUS Blog reports, the Government filed an application for a further extension of time to file a petition in this case at the Supreme Court (see the document here).Some links to background material:

In case you do not want to read through all this stuff and wonder what the cow shit issue is about - here comes the transcript:

Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, at that time acting in the docu-soap “The Simple Life”, acting as presenters of the Billboard Music Awards 2003, engage in the following dialogue:

Paris Hilton: Now Nicole, remember, this is a live show, watch the bad language.
Nicole Richie: Okay, God.
Paris Hilton: It feels so good to be standing here tonight.
Nicole Richie: Yeah, instead of standing in mud and [audio blocked]. Why do they even call it “The Simple Life?” Have you ever tried to get cow shit out of a Prada purse? It’s not so fucking simple.

Fox argued before the FCC that it was a live broadcast, and Nicole Richie had been scripted to say:

“Have you ever tried to get cow manure out of a Prada purse? It’s not so freaking simple.”

They actually script such dialogue ;-)

PS (update): Shakespeare, of course, avoided the S-word. As if his text was scripted by Fox TV, Edgar (in King Lear Act III, Scene 4) talks about “Poor Tom”, who leads another form of simple life, and

“eats cow-dung for sallets; swallows the old rat and
the ditch-dog; drinks the green mantle of the
standing pool”

Just never let Nicole Richie play Edgar!

About this Post
author: hans peter | Permalink | | Print This Article |


Comments

4 Responses to “FCC fights f…ing (fleeting) expletives - update”

  1. “A dream, a breath, a froth of f…ing joy.”* : contentandcarrier on March 18th, 2008 3:55 pm

    […] on US television, when the moral crusaders at the FCC are watching (see the previous posts here and here). And now the remarkable case of the hedgehogFCC v. Fox finally arrived at the US Supreme Court […]

  2. “one person working the bleeping machine”: FCC v. Fox transcript : contentandcarrier on November 5th, 2008 1:02 am

    […] don’t assume Justice Stevens had read our blog, where we pointed out Shakespeare’s avoidance of the word “cow shit” by using “cow …, but obviously the issue whether or not Shakespeare can be shown on daytime TV might depend on the […]

  3. “Fruity language” on TV, Radio, and before the Supreme Court? : contentandcarrier on December 15th, 2008 1:13 pm

    […] on daytime TV? The case FCC v. Fox has generated a lot of interest (also in this blog: read here, here and here), and if you want to catch up on this case before the transcripts […]

  4. Hamlet, with the Prince disappearing: US Supreme Court in fleeting expletives case : contentandcarrier on April 29th, 2009 10:07 am

    […] on the FCC’s change of policy in monitoring broadcast indecency (see our previous posts here, here, here, here and here) . To Breyer, the FCC had not given any substantial reason for abandoning its […]

Leave a Reply