Update 8/9: The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against
Defamation (GLAAD) and the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) today
announced that "José Luis Sin Censura," produced and broadcast by
Liberman Broadcasting, Inc. (LBI) on the EstrellaTV network, has been
permanently removed from the broadcast schedule.
Press Release from the Hispanic Media Coalition below
Liberman Broadcasting, Inc. Removes Controversial Talk Show
"Jose Luis Sin Censura" From Airwaves
18-Month Campaign Led By GLAAD, NHMC Results in Removal of
Hateful Program From Daytime Broadcast
Los Angeles, CA - August 9, 2012 - The Gay & Lesbian
Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and the National Hispanic Media Coalition
(NHMC) today announced that "José Luis Sin Censura," produced and
broadcast by Liberman Broadcasting, Inc. (LBI) on the EstrellaTV network, has
been permanently removed from the broadcast schedule. NHMC and GLAAD were
informed of this development in a letter from Winter Horton, LBI's Chief
Operating Officer.
The removal of the show comes after a campaign that included
18 months of sustained effort from GLAAD and NHMC, during which dozens of
organizations and thousands of individuals were mobilized, many via a petition
at Change.org. At the outset of the campaign, GLAAD and NHMC filed a nearly
200-page formal complaint with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and
contacted dozens of major advertisers whose ads appeared during the program.
The campaign resulted in an ongoing investigation by the FCC and a number of
advertisers withdrawing their support of the show including AT&T, Time
Warner Cable, and Western Dental.
To view video footage and photos of the delivery of the
Change.org petition calling on LBI to take action regarding the show visit:
http://www.glaad.org/jlsc
Recent episodes featured audiences chanting "puta"
("Whore! Whore! Whore!") at a female guest. In addition, audience
members were allowed to chant "puto! puto! puto!" (or
"f*ggot") at a man they thought to be gay. In the past, the show
often included the words "pinche" ("f*cking" in English)
and "culero" ("assf*cker"), anti-gay language, including
epithets such as "puto," "maricón," "joto" and
"puñal" (or "f*ggot"), anti-Latino slurs, such as
"mojado" ("wetback"), and anti-female terms such as
"piruja" and "puta" ("whore"). The program
frequently featured blatant nudity and female guests were shown in violent
fights. Guests and audience members were often incited to engage in verbal and
physical attacks. Many episodes showed the audience standing and shouting anti-gay
epithets and profanity at guests.
"This is a hard-fought victory for tolerance,
inclusion, and decency and it is further proof that programming that degrades
or threatens the safety of entire segments of our population has no place in
this country. For broadcasters that choose this path, this will always be the
outcome. Spreading hatred and bigotry is not a sustainable business
model," said Alex Nogales, President & CEO of NHMC.
"Content that appeared on this show fueled violence
against our community, which is growing and impacting so many families. Thanks
to thousands of LGBT, Latino Americans and allies, LBI took action," said
GLAAD President Herndon Graddick. "The company should now join so many
other Spanish-language broadcasters in presenting stories that inspire and
create change, not fuel a climate of intolerance and violence."
The National Coalition of Anti Violence Projects this year
found that the overall number of hate murders of members of the LGBT community
has increased by 11%.
In the letter received by the organizations earlier this
week, Winter Horton, COO of LBI, pledged to work together with GLAAD and NHMC
to "create positive experiences for the LGBT, Latino and Spanish-speaking
communities" in the future.
###
Two major media watchdog groups have joined to file a
complaint of failure to enforce broadcast decency standards for an LA-produced
Spanish language talk show with a heavy dose of homophobia, nudity and slurs.
The National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) and the Gay and
Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation filed a joint complaint with the FCC aginst
Liberman Broadcasting and KRCA, which produce and broadcast respectively Jose
Luis Sin Censura.
In over twenty episodes that aired between June 18th and
December 7, 2010, the complainants state the program contained images and
language of the nature that is never displayed or is bleeped out of
English-language programs of the same nature (think Jerry Springer). Language
used included pinche (fucking), culero (assfucker), maricon, joto and punal
(faggot). The program featured blatant nudity and women stripping for make
guests and audience members. Physical attacks were incited and encouraged and
the audience stood and shouted anti-gay epithets and profanities at guests.
Note: After some consideration, MA decided not to embed a video sampling of the program on our website. Those who wish to watch some clips can do so here. |