The Parents Television Council felt a nude America's Next Top Model tenth-season photo shoot was a little too provocative.
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The PTC filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission over Top Model's March 26 episode that featured Anya, a 19-year-old in retail sales from Honolulu, HI, posing nude on a bed for a shoot photographed by judge Nigel Barker.
While the nudity was partially blurred, the PTC complained because it aired in the so-called "Family Hour" at 8PM ET/PT on The CW.
"It is irresponsible for The CW Network to air full frontal nudity on the public airwaves at 8PM, and based upon our analysis of the broadcast in question we believe this has crossed the legal threshold for broadcast indecency," said PTC President Tim Winter in a Tuesday statement.
"This episode portrays a photo-shoot where the model is entirely naked; and the nudity includes the model's pubic region in full view, albeit slightly blurred."
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Winter said while some may argue the shoot was "simply a matter of artistic freedom," that's not the case in his opinion.
"Rather, this is about a television network intentionally pushing the envelope to establish a new acceptable nudity standard for the broadcast medium. The entire photo shoot scene, which lasted for more than a minute, is wholly gratuitous and undoubtedly intended to titillate," he said in the statement. "Sadly, it appears that CW believed this was appropriate content for children given that the show aired during the Family Hour. Even more children were exposed to this graphic content because of the time it aired."
In addition to filing the complaint with the FCC, the PTC also encouraged its members to do the same because "broadcasters have an obligation to abide by decency standards in exchange for free use of the public airwaves," according to Winter.
"Parents and families are fed up with such blatant and continued disregard for decency standards, and we encourage our members and anyone else who believe this broadcast crosses the line to lodge an indecency complaint with the FCC," he said in the statement. "The public's voice will not remain silent while networks like CW try to profit from airing indecent content such as this."
Founded in 1995, the PTC is a non-partisan education organization advocating responsible entertainment by aiming to ensure that children are not "constantly assaulted by sex, violence and profanity on television and in other media."
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio