Spike Lee, VFW, Michael Powell: More Super Bowl Bitching
Published February 04, 2004
The VFW is pissed about Kid Rock wearing an American flag as a poncho in the Super Bowl halftime show:
The VFW is upset that media outlets are ignoring the poncho Rock wore during the Super Bowl halftime show, which was made by cutting a slit in an American flag. Rock later tossed the flag into the crowd.
The VFW's commander in chief, Edward Banas Senior, says Rock's outfit was "in poor taste and extremely disrespectful." Banas lamented that the NFL, MTV and CBS have issued apologies for Justin Timberlake's ripping Janet Jackson's clothes but have said nothing about Rock.
....FCC chief Michael Powell said Tuesday that the agency had begun a formal investigation, and a letter was sent to CBS. "It's well under way," he said.
All five commissioners expressed concern about the Super Bowl broadcast, but Powell declined to speculate on what the FCC would do once the investigation was finished.
Powell said he wasn't happy with the halftime show in general, including Rock's performance. [AP]
- Film director Spike Lee criticized Janet Jackson's surprise breast-baring during the Super Bowl halftime show last weekend as a "new low" of attention-getting antics by entertainers.
....Lee, speaking at Kent State University's regional campus in Stark County, Ohio, on Tuesday night, said there has been a decline in artistry.
He said it's not enough to be a good singer, and that entertainers "have to do something extra" - such as the openmouthed kiss Madonna gave Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera during the MTV Video Music Awards in August.
"What's gonna be next? It's getting crazy, and it's all down to money. Money and fame," said Lee, the director of "Malcolm X" and "Do the Right Thing." "Somehow the whole value system has been upended." [AP]
- Jackson issued another apology in a videotape released to the media. The pop star had apologized Monday night in a written statement.
"I am really sorry if I offended anyone. That was truly not my intention," she said. "MTV, CBS, the NFL had no knowledge of this whatsoever, and unfortunately, the whole thing went wrong in the end."
CBS is instituting a delay system for their Grammy broadcast Sunday:
- The one-second flashing continued to cause reverberations Tuesday, as CBS said it would institute a video delay system to avoid any recurrence at the Grammy awards.
Timberlake, who is nominated for five Grammy Awards, is scheduled to perform on Sunday's telecast. Jackson is supposed to present an award.
"Unfortunately, we cannot count on those who appear on our air to live up to our standards," said Martin Franks, CBS executive vice president.
CBS faces a Federal Communications Commission investigation into whether the Super Bowl show violated decency laws, with potential fines of up to $27,500. If applied to each CBS station, the fine could reach into the millions.
- Spike Lee, VFW, Michael Powell: More Super Bowl Bitching
- Published: February 04, 2004
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- Section: Video
- Filed Under: Music: News, Video: News, Video: Television
- Writer: Eric Olsen
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Comments
I read earlier today that ABC has asked the Oscars to go on a five second delay as well, though this request was apparently made before the incident at the Superbowl.
i am so mad u people need to get beat up or something. janet jackson didnt do anything wrong and i think u people should go suck on a monkeys ass. i hope something bad happens to you, you raciest pigs. MTV< VH1 anybody who had a problem with janet jackson needs to suck a horses penis or suck on dinosaure bones.oh yeah people stop lyinng cause michael jackson is innocent PUNKS!!!!!!!
that sums it up
janet jackson is the bomb and i love her to death. i just want her to know that whatever she does i am behind her 110% she is the hardest working artist in the business today amd we need more like her. and janet please do a concert out in california before i have to go to collage.
art school, eh?
I don't agree with Kid Rock's uses of the flag as a poncho, but I will give him credit for being one of the few entertainers to come down to Iraq and entertain the troops.
it would appear he was simply ignorant of the connotations since he has certainly been among the most vocally pro-American entertainers over the last couple of years
I agree.
It is interesting that if he had worn a poncho that was decorated to look like a flag, no one would say a thing. It's a fine distinction, I know.
I guess the distinction is between their "thingness"
DOn't start with the technical terms, Eric, I am a simple man.
sure you are
I think Janet Jackson told him to do it. I love Justin he's just not like that.I've known him to long.ever since NSYNC started .He would never do anything like that. If any one disagrees with me then you should go dye in a horse's ass.
I just filed a complaint about the VFW sending me unsolicited Vietnam CDs and silly wall coins and expected me to pay for it. These bastards have been hounding me for 20 years with the their marketing bs.
The VFW needs to clean up their own act and quit spamming veterans.








I remember a time (Viet Nam/Easy Rider period) when wearing an American flag was punishable by death, or at least a severe beating at the hands of semi-domesticated construction workers.
Then after 9/11, you couldn't spit and NOT hit some politico and/or celebrity wearing a flag sweater, shirt, jacket, or hat.
The CONSERVATIVE RIGHT loved it when this fashion craze fit their agenda ("...keep your eye on the flag, America, you're getting sleepy...sleepy...sleepy..."), but that opened the floodgates for morons like Kid Rock.
One wonders why "Old Navy" gets a free pass from the VFW.
Talk about offensive, IT'S THEIR FRIGGIN' LOGO!!!
Ah, what a country.
PS: Look for the next craze to be American Flag Pasties.