The Parents Television Council doesn’t want MTV to hit the rewind button next week.
The music channel’s VMA telecast from last year introduced the uber-sexualized reboot of Miley Cyrus’ career. Her twerk-heavy romp with Robin Thicke trashed her family-friendly image and shocked audiences. The spectacle also upset some parents who preferred they didn’t have to see the erstwhile Hannah Montana in such poses.
PTC President Tim Winter is warning MTV against a similar showcase in a letter shared with the press but directed at Janet Borelli, SVP Standards & Practices at MTV Networks/Viacom Media Networks.
Parents and families around the country have had ample reason to be concerned about the material distributed and promoted by MTV over the years, particularly during MTV’s original programming.
While last year’s Miley Cyrus/Robin Thicke performance garnered most of the headlines after the fact, the sexually charged and otherwise inappropriate content of the show was not limited to them. Even more troubling was the fact that MTV still applied a TV-14 rating to the program, despite other adult-oriented performances and advertising messages.
Such a rating was simply unacceptable to the families who depend on the television ratings system to be applied accurately and to the millions of families whose children are marketed to by MTV. The 2013 VMAs were a public relations kerfuffle for your network that I feel certain you will not wish to repeat.
Winter’s note asks MTV to vow that the show won’t be a repeat of last year’s salacious material, adheres to the company’s own standards and practices regarding content and rates the program accurately.
The 2014 VMAs, set to feature Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj, Rita Ora, Iggy Azalea, Maroon 5, and Usher will air at 9 p.m. EST Aug. 24 on MTV.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.