MTV Censors Miley Cyrus Smoking a Joint at European Music Awards

Would MTV risk upsetting some sensitive parents?
Perish the thought. As Matthew Feeney
noted in the morning links, MTV, which once upon a time
could’ve been described as a subversive media outlet,
censored Miley Cyrus appearing to light a joint after accepting
an award at the EMAs, which were held in Amsterdam yesterday, and
aired in the US on MTV last night. Deadline helpfully

explains that “[h]ad MTV opted to leave the smoking stunt by
the 20-year-old Cyrus in, the network most certainly would’ve
gotten into hot water with watchdogs and parents.”

Cyrus, whose latest album came out last month, previously
attracted controversy and attention to herself by performing a
sexually provocative number with Robin Thicke at this summer’s MTV
Video Music Awards. The FCC received more than 150 pages of
complaints about Cyrus after the award show aired, even though the
agency has no jurisdiction or authority over cable networks like
MTV. Peter Suderman
argued that the blurred lines between cable and broadcast
networks mean the FCC should withdraw from the business of
censoring broadcast networks, just as it’s hands-off with
cable.

MTV’s self-censorship of an act that, even if it were an actual
joint, would be basically legal in the country where it happened as
well as in two US states and several local municipalities and that
a majority of Americans believe ought to be legal, further suggest
that cable network, and others, don’t need the FCC’s meddling to
make silly censorship calls. Cyrus
pointed out how bizarre MTV’s censorship policies can be by
noting they let her twerk at the VMAs but felt the need to censor
her mention of Molly (MDMA). They are a music channel no one is
forced to watch or pay for, and should be comfortable not censoring
either.

Read Nick Gillespie on Miley Cyrus, MTV, and the “blandification
of pop culture”
here.