CBS Target of Pro-Family Complaints About 'Televised Strip Show'

by Allie Martin and Jody Brown
November 20, 2003

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(AgapePress) - The American Family Association is filing a formal complaint with the FCC over Wednesday night's airing of Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.

Described by CBS as "a sexy tribute to Broadway," the 60-minute special featured three leading supermodels from the fashion world modeling women's lingerie in what the network describes as a "provocative runway presentation." The broadcast included a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the fashion show.

The Mississippi-based American Family Association says CBS crossed the line of decency and should be investigated for airing a lingerie infomercial showing "scantily-clad women in sexual and suggestive poses." Don Wildmon, founder and chairman of AFA, says his organization has asked the Federal Communications Commission to open an indecency investigation against television stations that aired the program.

Randy Sharp, director of special projects for AFA, says the broadcast was a televised version of a strip show. "We believe it's in nobody's interest to have half-nude women sashaying up and down a runway," he says. "There's nothing in the public interest that is appealing about that type of show."

Sharp says concerned Christians can help in holding CBS accountable by filing complaints themselves. "OneMillionDads.com and OneMillionsMoms.com offer the opportunity for any citizen to file a formal Federal Communications Commission complaint against their local CBS station for airing this indecent program," he says.

AFA hopes to flood the FCC with thousands of formal complaints from unhappy viewers. The pro-family group explains that according to law, the FCC cannot ignore such complaints and must investigate every CBS station that has a complaint filed against it.

Wildmon says people are tired of a "constant barrage of filth" on network television. "The airwaves belong to the public -- not to CBS and their local affiliate stations," the pro-family leader says. "It's time the FCC began serving the viewer, rather than the broadcaster."