Media Morality Watchdog Slams NBC for Airing ‘Fifty Shades’ Trailer While Preaching Against Domestic Violence

Rex Features via AP Images
Rex Features via AP Images

Media morality watchdog The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCSE) issued a statement Monday questioning NBC’s decision to air both a domestic violence PSA and a trailer for the “sexually violent” film Fifty Shades of Grey during Sunday night’s Super Bowl broadcast.

The statement from NCSE reads:

We commend the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell for the domestic violence PSA that ran during the 2015 Super Bowl. We are hopeful that the chilling ad will impact many. However, while the NFL strives to educate on and oppose domestic violence, we must note that NBC accepted and ran ads for the film, Fifty Shades of Grey. To promote a sexually violent film as entertainment in the same hour as the NFL’s PSA sends a mixed message to the viewers. We hope that patrons recognize that the PSA features more realistic implications to the end of the twisted Fifty Shades fairytale.

The NFL’s own domestic violence PSA features a woman who calls 911 and pretends to order a pizza; the dispatcher quickly realizes the woman is not in fact ordering a pizza, but cannot explain the nature of the call, ostensibly because her abuser is nearby.

The ad comes on the heels of a turbulent year for the league, which was plagued with numerous scandals including a domestic violence incident involving Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice.

“Our criticism is of NBC, not the NFL,” NCSE president Patrick Truman told Breitbart News. “The domestic violence PSA was done well. But given the recent troubles with domestic abuse the NFL has dealt with, the Fifty Shades of Grey commercial was entirely inappropriate.”

Fifty Shades of Grey chronicles the twisted sexual relationship between billionaire Christian Grey and literature student Anastasia Steele. The film, based on the bestselling novel by E.L. James, will be released in the U.S. on Valentine’s Day. 

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