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Fox Thumbs Nose at $91K FCC Fine

Calls indecency ruling on strippers 'arbitrary and capricious'

By Jim O'Neill, Newser User

Posted Mar 25, 2008 11:00 AM CDT

(Newser) – Think strippers and whipped cream is indecent? Pshaw, says Fox, which wants the FCC to drop a $91,000 indecency fine for a 2003 episode of “Married by America” in which contestants at rowdy parties licked whipped cream off topless strippers. The network originally was fined $1.2 million, reports Bloomberg, but the FCC decided to impose $7,000 fines only on the 13 stations that received complaints.

Fox, which has consistently challenged FCC indecency rulings, called the fines “arbitrary and capricious.” The FCC said it would continue to enforce indecency standards and called the scenes “pandering and titillating.” A federal appeals court ruled in Fox's favor in a recent case dealing with one-time expletives in live settings. The Supreme Court plans to review the ruling.

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Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, USA, Kevin Martin gestures while speaking during a working session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Friday Jan. 25, 2008. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

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A clip of Stephen, Xavier, and Kevin on Married by America (JoeMattress10 (YouTube))

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Fox Thumbs Nose at $91K FCC Fine