The Parents Television Council has a message for Sirius radio shock jock Howard Stern’s reported plans to join American Idol: No pasará—he shall not pass.
“WHEREAS Howard Stern is one of the most profane, sexually-explicit and anti-family performers in the history of the broadcast medium;” declares the PTC’s latest resolution and petition (which the group would like you to sign), “and in discussing the possibility of becoming a judge on American Idol on his radio program gave audiences a preview of what he would bring to the table as a judge, talking about getting ‘little boys hard’.”
And, if the reports about this prove true . . .
“We [you, if you sign the petition] will no longer watch the program; we will share our concern with our friends, family and others in our social circle; and we will contact every sponsor and urge them to consider whether they should associate their corporate image with a man who talks about ‘getting little boys hard.’ And if Stern says anything that we feel is in violation of broadcast decency laws, we will take immediate action by filing complaints with the Federal Communications Commission against our local Fox affiliate. We ask you to immediately repudiate these rumors and commit publicly to keeping American Idol safe for family viewing.”
The petition is directed towards Kevin Reilly, President of Fox Entertainment and Simon Fuller, Executive Producer of American Idol. It is unclear whether Stern is really American Idol bound. I can’t figure out where the creepy ‘little boys’ comment allegedly comes from, but the New York Post has details about the rest.
Stern does have a poll on his website with the following question. “Which show should Howard save by becoming its host?” The choices are The Tonight Show or American Idol. And he’s got a rant about what works on the latter show (not Ellen DeGeneres).
My vote is that Stern should continue to focus on saving Sirius radio, which has paid him quite a penny for his presence there, and which is doing well considering the odds, but still struggling. Plus Sirius is beyond the reach of the Federal Communications Commission’s idiotic indecency rules.
