The Parents Television Council, expressing outrage over a perceived indecency on the small screen? What, is it Wednesday already?
Following the Third Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling Wednesday siding with CBS over the infamous "wardrobe malfunction" on the 2004 Super Bowl, the professional finger-waggers at the PTC — who spearheaded the public outcry over the incident when it occurred — issued a scathing statement condemning the court's decision.
Also read: Appeals Court Rules for CBS, Janet Jackson in "Wardrobe Malfunction" Case
"Today’s ruling reaches the level of judicial stupidity and is a sucker-punch to families everywhere," PTC president Tim Winter fumed in the statement. "In rendering an opinion it wishes to foist on the nation, the Third Circuit has chosen to ignore the law, the facts, Supreme Court precedent, the intent of the Congress and the will of the American people."
Also read: Parents Television Council Crows About "Playboy Club" Cancellation
In its decision Wednesday, the court ruled that the Federal Communications Commission had no authority to fine CBS after a halftime performance by Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake ended in a split-second flash of Jackson's near-naked breast. The FCC had fined both the network and performers $550,000.
"How can nudity and a striptease in front of 90 million unsuspecting TV viewers not qualify as indecency?" Winter continued. "Each and every year the Super Bowl broadcast draws the highest viewership ratings of the year, including tens of millions of children and families.
Winter further called on the FCC and Supreme Court to add the Third Circuit Court's opinion to the judicial review of the nation's broadcast indecency law, which is currently before the Court.
The PTC has been particularly busy of late, mounting campaigns against the MTV adaptation of British series "Skins," an ABC pilot that bore the tentative title "Good Christian Bitches" (which was subsequently renamed "Good Christian Belles," and the recently canceled NBC drama "The Playboy Club."