Updated below: Bob Parks has video.
Updated below: MTV apologizes.
"Ready to make the censors' ears bleed?"
That's how Anna Kendrick summed up MTV's attitude toward decency June 6 during the network's annual Movie Awards broadcast.
It wasn't just the censors who endured a two-hour swear-fest. The television audience had the pleasure of hearing 30 percent of the vulgarities uttered throughout the night. A Culture and Media Institute review found the 122-minute show littered with at least 100 bleep-worthy words - that's more than one per minute not including commercials.
The network's censors caught 70 curses. They included 47 variations of "f---," 11 uses of "s---," two of "a------," one slang for breasts, and nine that were unidentifiable.
At least 30 made it past the censors, including... ...nine variations of "f----," two of "s---" and one "goddamn." Apparently the censors didn't even try to cover nine uses of "bitch," eight uses of "ass," and one "damn."
Actor Peter Facinelli, who accepted the "Best Picture" award for the teen vampire drama "Twilight: New Moon," commented, "I've never heard the word ‘f---‘ used so many times in one evening." He went on to use it eight times himself, four of which made it past the censors.
It would be difficult for MTV to claim these were accidental. The show seemed obsessed with using offensive language. Three of the official award titles used or referenced vulgarities, including the "Best Scared-As-S-t Performance," "the Biggest Bad-Ass Star" and the "Best WTF Moment." ("WTF" is an abbreviation for "what the f---.")
The show also featured Tom Cruise using a cane to represent a penis, at least two homosexual kisses played for comedic effect, simulated masturbation and ejaculation onto the audience, simulated oral sex between a performer and a dancer, and an extreme close-up of singer Christina Aguilera's crotch.
The 2010 MTV Movie Awards is just the latest vulgar awards show offering from Viacom's "Music Television." At the 2008 "Video Music Awards," host Russell Brand joked about Bristol Palin's unplanned pregnancy and mocked chastity pledges. The 2009 Movie Awards made headlines when host Sacha Baron Cohen's fell bare-butt first onto rapper Eminem's face.
Update #1: Bob Parks has a video montage posted on NewsBusters. Content Warning. Strong Language. Bob didn't edit out anything MTV didn't edit out.
Update #2: The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that MTV has apologized. In a statement, the network said the show is "a live televised event known for irreverent comedy and a party atmosphere where our guests speak more freely than they otherwise might ... We sincerely apologize to those in our audience who were offended by any objectionable words that might have slipped by for the live airing." See THR for the full statement.
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