If you saw the Super Bowl this year then there’s a good chance you were dismayed by what you saw from both Shakira and J.Lo during the halftime show. I remember thinking it was incredibly inappropriate, full of obscene gestures by both singers as they danced around the stage wearing close to nothing. How horrified some parents must have been at what their kids were seeing.
In a new report by CNN, they explain that the FCC received over 1300 complaints about the halftime show:
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) received 1,312 complaints from viewers who had something to say about the halftime show featuring pop queens Shakira and Jennifer Lopez.
Some of the complaints, which were sent to CNN by FCC officials and first obtained by WFAA, came from parents who felt their children were exposed to a “porno show.” Other adults thought the show encouraged sex trafficking.
And some people were upset no public warnings were given before the show, which one viewer said was less a musical act than an “X-rated strip club performance.”
Now I know 1,312 complaints isn’t much compared to the 200k they got when Janet Jackson had her infamous ‘clothing malfunction’ back in 2004, but I still think it’s significant and representative of how many felt during the show.
CNN gives us a few of the complaints they received from the FCC:
“Jennifer Lopez’s performance at the Super Bowl halftime show was extremely explicit and completely unacceptable for a event where families including children are watching,” a Utah viewer said. “I had to send my children out of the room so that they weren’t exposed to something they should not have seen.”
“She kept grabbing her crotch…”
“My family was very excited to watch the Super Bowl tonight,” a viewer from Washington complained. “However, I was not prepared to explain to my 11 yo daughter why Jennifer Lopez was dressed so scantily or why she kept grabbing her crotch. My daughter was asking if she was feeling sick from having so much skin showing.”
#MeToo hypocrisy:
“What are you teaching young girls?” a Wisconsin viewer said. “Dance around half naked to make men excited then claim #MeToo for harassment? It’s ok to be some sexual being and shake your naked rear end and expose your crotch and dance on a pole in front of the world?”
Several said they were going to boycott Pepsi, the Super Bowl, the NFL, and FOX:
“Jennifer Lopez’s gyrating on a stripper pole with her butt and her crotch smack in front of my eyes, my husband and children was an affront to women and children and violates your rules,” one person from Tennessee said. “I will be boycotting Pepsi and their products and unless you can guarantee a decent half time show next year, we will boycott the Super Bowl.
“It was EXTREMELY offensive to me and my family. Together, those who object will boycott Pepsi and the NFL if this is acceptable entertainment for their games,” another viewer from Maryland complained.
“I am appalled at how a television network allowed such a disgusting display of the degrading of women and basically a porn show during the hours of family viewing,” a New Jersey viewer said. “This has pushed me to boycott this network and the NFL. Both obviously missed the description of what it is to empower a woman.”
“I am very offended by the performance of porn on a supposed family occasion,” yet another viewer said. “I will be boycotting the Super Bowl and especially the vulgar half time shows that have progressively gotten worse through the years.”
“I was one of those who turned the channel as soon as I saw what the show was about. Fox and the NFL should be held accountable for the show. Yet one more reason to go back to boycotting the NFL,” a Texas viewer complained.
If there were over 1,300 this upset by the halftime show to move them to actually write to the FCC and complain, then you can bet there were many, many more just like them who just told their friends and family about their disgust.
I would hope the FCC would crack down on the NFL, especially knowing how much they want kids to watch the SuperBowl. The bar for appropriateness shouldn’t be having a nipple pop out during the show.