What Ellen Hath Wrought

Letter to the Editor - October 11, 1997

Background:

In autumn of 1997, an episode of Ellen DeGeneris' landmark ABC sitcom Ellen included a scene of a lesbian character kissing her best friend on the lips. Far from being erotic, the kiss was portrayed as a joke, an almost exact equivalent of the famous Sammy Davis, Jr./Archie Bunker smoochathon.

Already under heavy fire from microcephalic Christian fundamentalists for daring to admit that *gasp!* some women are LESBIANS, ABC plastered an advisory notice at the beginning of the show, warning that the episode contained material that may be offensive. From the ominous tone of the advisory, I was at the very least expecting full frontal nudity, and possibly even mutual cunnilingus on the studio floor. Instead I got Milton Berle planting a big sloppy one on Phil Silvers.

I was moved to write the following letter to the San Antonio Express-News, which they declined to publish:

To the Editors:

I am writing to complain about the blasphemous filth that is spewing into our living rooms. The other evening I was watching television, and witnessed one character kissing another in a manner that is expressly forbidden by the Bible in Leviticus 20:15.

My own morals are beyond corruption, but what of the impressionable children? Must they be exposed to the disgusting sight of Bugs Bunny kissing Elmer Fudd full on the lips? By airing this garbage, the Cartoon Network is giving tacit approval to the sin of bestiality.

I am not in favor of censorship, however. I merely request that a parental advisory be aired before each broadcast. Something along the lines of:

"Warning. This program is rated I. It may offend some idiots."

Sincerely,
David Bryant

ABC has continued its policy of running warnings of impending offensive material before every Ellen episode, whether or not it includes anything more controversial than Ellen fighting a parking ticket. What I want to know is, where was the ABC warning label when the completely amoral Ron and Nancy show was befouling the airwaves? Now THAT was an offensive program.
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