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Los Angeles, CA: Band Sues NBC After Network Ban
May 27, 2005
PEN USA is concerned that NBC has banned musical group “Motley Crue” from appearing on any of its shows. The band is suing the television network, calling the ban “censorship.”
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Motley Crue’s lead singer Vince Neil, let a profanity slip during the 2004 New Year’s Eve broadcast of NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” The band filed suit on May 24, 2005 after NBC announced the band was forbidden to appear on any NBC show after that.
The suit seeks the lifting of the ban, as well as damages the band suffered from losing media exposure, not just on NBC but on other networks as well. The suit points out U2 lead singer, Bono, used the same explicative during a 2003 broadcast and NBC did not ban U2 from its network the way it banned Motley Crue, even though the FCC fined NBC for the Bono incident. Motley Crue feels they are being “singled out.”
The argument from Motley Crue is that the network banned them to seek favor with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Lately, the FCC has been handing networks larger and larger fines for “indecency.” PEN USA has noticed networks acting skittish to avoid drawing the attention of the FCC, often resorting to acts of self-censorship. The banning of Motley Crue is one of the more drastic reactions.
According to the lawsuit, NBC’s ban is equated with censorship. According to a Reuter’s article, the suit says, “Censorship ... is an evil outlawed by the United States Constitution for over 200 years. It is an affront to our society.”
PEN USA agrees that banning a group from ever appearing on the network again is an act of censorship. The ballooning power of the FCC may have scared NBC into an action that goes against the ideals of free airwaves, and free speech.
(source: http://www.metronews.ca/reuters_entertainment.asp?id=75072)
Recommended Action:
Write NBC and request that they lift the ban against Motley Crue.
NBC Studios
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112