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Will & Grace and Janet Jackson?

by J.A. Lopata

“Pander, titillate or shock,” seem to be the standards by which the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is judging indecency since Janet Jackson’s infamous Super Bowl breast-baring incident.
Explaining that 2001 episodes of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Will & Grace” were not graphic enough “to pander, titillate or shock the audience,” the FCC ruled out any possibility of wardrobe malfunction in a ruling released on August 9.

“Buffy” was accused by The Parent TV Council of violating indecency regulations in a show in which Buffy and Spike engaged in sex.

For “Will & Grace,” the brouhaha concerned an episode depicting two woman kissing each other and then simulating sex, which was too much for the Americans for Decency group who filed the complaint. The FCC found the scene not “patently offensive.”

But hold onto your breast plates. “Will & Grace” recently decided to invite Janet Jackson to appear in an upcoming episode. The idea of Will and Grace with Janet may not be a “shock,” but the possibilities are at least “titillating.” Stay tuned for the September 23 airing.

This piece first appeared in "In Newsweekly: New England's largest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender newspaper."

August 12, 2004