The Federal Communications Commission has been petitioned by a broad group of entertainment entities, challenging the constitutionality of the FCC’s citation of U2 singer Bono for using an ‘indecent’ term during a live broadcast of the 2003 Golden Globe Awards. The 71-page petition was filed in response to the March 18, 2004 FCC ruling that found Bono’s use of the term “f*cking brilliant,” to be ‘indecent’ and ‘profane’. The petitioners charged that the FCC’s ruling aggresively oversteps its authority by establishing a “newly-crafted” standard for profanity that exerts a “chilling effect on constitutionally-protected speech.” The FCC began a crackdown on media indecency after Janet Jackson’s nipple was exposed during the live broadcast of the Super Bowl halftime show in February. Clear Channel, a syndicator of radio talk show personality Howard Stern, was fined nearly $500,000 by the FCC for indecent speech. Infinity Broadcasting – another of Stern’s syndicators and a subsidiary of FCC petitioner Viacom – is expected to be slapped with fines up to $1.5 million as early as this week.
The petition filed with the FCC is just the latest volly in the entertainment industry’s war with the FCC. Earlier this month, pop singer Alanis Morissette dropped her robe during a live event in Canada, revealing a flesh-colored body suit adorned with exaggerated nipples and a cartoonish tuft of pubic hair. “I am proud to be able to stand here and do this,” said Morissette in an obvious spoof of Janet Jackson’s famed Super Bowl “wardrobe malfunction” .
