indecency news stories on Newser

Supreme Court May Rule on 'Wardrobe Malfunction'

Dustin Lushing — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:38:21 CDT

The infamous 2004 Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction may make it all the way to the Supreme Court. The FCC filed an appeal to the high court today, asking it to reconsider a decision by a lower court that threw out a $550,000 fine the FCC levied against CBS, reports...

Anti-Gay Pastor Busted for Public Masturbation

Rob Quinn — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 04:48:49 CST

A bullhorn-toting New Orleans pastor known for disrupting the city's annual gay festival by loudly denouncing "sinful behavior" has been arrested and charged with masturbating in a public park. Christian fundamentalist Grant Storms was taken into custody after two women complained that he was masturbating in his van while staring...

Court Voids FCC's Policy on Swearing

Nick McMaster — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 14:40:21 CDT

A federal appeals court ruled today that an f-bomb or two uttered on live TV isn't such a heinous crime after all. The court struck down the FCC's indecency policy on obscenities as "unconstitutionally vague," the Wall Street Journal reports. The zero-tolerance policy was so strict it violated the broadcasters'...

NY Woman Charged With Adultery

Kevin Spak — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 08:53:46 CDT

An upstate New York woman has been charged with adultery, something only twelve others in state history have been charged with, after a mother allegedly spotted her having sex on a picnic table in the park. The police officer who responded happened to know that Suzanne Corona, 49, was married,...

Dubai Jails Tourists for Kissing

Nick McMaster — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 06:38:00 CDT

A British couple have been sentenced to a month in prison in Dubai after a local woman complained when they kissed in a beachfront restaurant. "We kissed each other on the cheek as a greeting, nothing more,” Ayman Najafi, 24, told the Dubai Appeal Court yesterday. He called the case...

Sudan Woman Tried for Pants Gets Fined, Not Flogged

Harry Kimball — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 09:51:51 CDT

The Sudanese woman arrested in July for wearing pants has been fined around $200 but will not receive the 40 lashes once threatened, CNN reports. Lubna Hussein, an erstwhile UN worker who resigned in order to waive immunity and challenge her prosecution, says she will not pay the fine and...

Bill Would Keep ED Ads Off TV at Most Hours

Nick McMaster — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:01:01 CDT

A bill proposed in the House would ban advertising for drugs to treat erectile dysfunction from airing in the daytime and prime time, the Hill reports. The “Families for ED Advertising Decency Act” would confine such “indecent” advertising to between 10pm and 6am. Under the bill, the makers of drugs...

Supreme Court Reopens Nipple-Gate

Kevin Spak — Mon, 04 May 2009 10:04:18 CDT

The Supreme Court today ordered a federal appeals court to consider reinstating a fine against CBS for Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction, the AP reports. The appeals court had ruled that the glimpse of Jackson’s breast, which lasted nine-sixteenths of a second, should have been considered “fleeting,” and hence...

Bird-Flipping Globes Could Cost NBC With Feds

Ambreen Ali — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 10:34:02 CST

The decency police are on NBC’s tail for Sunday’s obscenity-speckled Golden Globes. The Federal Communications Commission is reviewing the program after receiving 18 complaints, the Los Angeles Times reports. The most flagrant violation was probably when The Wrestler director Darren Aronofsky jokingly flipped off actor Mickey Rourke as he delivered...