The Parents Television Council issued the following statement in response to last evening’s MTV Video Music Awards (VMA).
“MTV has once again succeeded in marketing sexually charged messages to young children using former child stars and condom commercials — while falsely rating this program as appropriate for kids as young as 14. This is unacceptable,” said PTC Director of Public Policy Dan Isett.
“This much is absolutely clear: MTV marketed adults-only material to children while falsely manipulating the content rating to make parents think the content was safe for their children.
“MTV continues to sexually exploit young women by promoting acts that incorporate ‘twerking’ in a nude-colored bikini. How is this image of former child star Miley Cyrus appropriate for 14-year-olds?
“How is it appropriate for children to watch Lady Gaga strip down to a bikini in the opening act?
“How is it appropriate for 14-year-olds to see a condom commercial and a promo for an R-rated movie during the first commercial break?
“This content would likely not be given a forum if it were on a broadcast network. Yet MTV continues to push limits because it’s a cable network. But that does not mean MTV’s decisions have no consequences, especially for the millions of children who were targeted by MTV, “We urge Congress to pass the Television Consumer Freedom Act which will give parents and consumers a real solution for future MTV VMA programs — the ability to choose and pay for cable networks that they want vs. having to pay for networks they don’t want. After MTV’s display last night, it’s time to give control back to consumers,” Isett added.
PTC Advisory Board Member and former BET Executive Paul Porter said, “The Miley Cyrus/Robin Thicke performance simply substituted talent with sex. Viacom has a set of corporate broadcast standards that were obviously broken in this case for financial gain. While the performance was shocking to the audience, MTV approved it during the show run prior to the broadcast. Heads should roll at MTV.”