Fox and the FCC just can't seem to
get along.The purveyor or schlocky reality TV and fair and balanced reporting is refusing to pay a $1.2 million fine for airing an episode of a show called
Married By America in 2004 that the FCC deemed indecent. An article in
Variety reports that Fox is arguing the content was not indecent, but "integral to the storyline." The integral content?
"We reject Fox's claim," FCC analysts wrote after reviewing videotape. "Even with Fox's editing, the episode includes scenes in which partygoers lick whipped cream from strippers' bodies in a sexually suggestive manner. Another scene features a man on all fours in his underwear as two female strippers playfully spank him. Although the episode electronically obscures any nudity, the sexual nature of the scenes is inescapable, as the strippers attempt to lure partygoers into sexually compromising situations."
Sounds pretty integral to me.
-Andy Wright
