-
The Paris Hilton Hamburger Car Wash
In 2005, the PTC just got absolutely livid when hamburger chain Carl's Jr. decided the best way to get people interested in its sandwiches was to have Paris Hilton throw a bunch of soapy water on herself and then bite into an enormous ground-beef sandwich. The PTC got mad because the commercial was sexual, especially the part where Paris put her finger in her mouth.
-
That '70s Show's Alone-Time Intrigue
The PTC did not take kindly to "That '70s Show" when it devoted an entire episode to masturbation. So upset was the Council that it took the time to transcribe many of the lines and describe in painstaking detail a character's discussion of Eric Forman's embarrassing moment in his girlfriend's bathroom.
Getty Images
-
The WWE Smackdown
Offended by WWE Smackdown's sexual play-acting and fueled by a moral panic over children injuring themselves trying to execute pro-wrestling moves, the PTC in met with Smackdown's advertisers in an effort to get them to pull funding. WWE soon hit back with a defamation suit against the parental advocates, eventually settling with the PTC and forcing a public apology from the Council.
Getty Images
-
Bono Says the F Word
In 2003 the Parents Television Council tried to get the FCC to fine NBC after Bono said "fuck" or some derivation thereof during the Golden Globes. That didn't work, but the ensuing kerfuffle did usher in a new era of hefty fines for transgressive broadcasters.
-
Family Guy!
"Family Guy," the hyperkinetic cartoon for braindead stoners, got voted "Worst Show of the Week" by the Parents Television Council for an episode containing, per PTC, "everything from an ‘eleven-way' gay orgy to baby Stewie eating a bowl of cereal with horse sperm instead of milk." Creator Seth MacFarlane has said that fielding FTC complaints is "like getting hate mail from Hitler."
-
Janet Jackson's Halftime Flap
Many readers will have the misfortune of remembering that a mishap during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show left Janet Jackson exposed for a little more than half a second. The PTC complained about the exposure. Eventually the Federal Communications Commission fined Super Bowl broadcaster CBS $550,000, only to have a federal appeals court throw out the fine.
Getty Images
-
SpongeBob SquarePants
The PTC attacked SpongeBob for an episode in which the little yellow hero and his buddy learn that swearing is bad. (Not a single cuss is audible during the show.) The PTC didn't like that the episode dealt with the subject of swearing.
-
Dick in a Box
Justin Timberlake, who bore some responsibility for the PTC-enraging Janet Jackson breast incident, again raised the ire of the Council in 2006 for performing a novelty song called "Dick in a Box" on Saturday Night Live. PTC president Brent Bozell said, "Clearly, the network will stop at nothing to find loopholes for its indecent programming to reach the public." Clearly!
Getty Images
-
Airlines
Fearful that children on airplanes might see scenes from PG-13 and R movies while captive in the cabin, the Parents Television Council in 2007 asked the airline industry to remove such entertainment. Congressman Heath Shuler has also been on the airborn-obscenity warpath, introducing that same year the "Family Friendly Flights Act of 2007," which sought to cordon off special parts of planes for unaccompanied minors and parents with children 13 and under.
-
Miley Cyrus Is Too Sexy or Something
Recently, the Parents Television Council complained that Miley Cyrus was way too sexual in a recent music video, which is weird since Cyrus' father, Billy Ray, is on the PTC board. Readers can decide for themselves by watching the video here.
mileycyrus.com
