LOS ANGELES (October 3, 2012) – Today, the Parents Television Council® issued an alert to their members asking them to file a formal complaint with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for the use of a graphic verbal and visual reference to oral sex and ejaculation that occurred on a recent episode of Seth MacFarlane’s “American Dad.” The program aired at 9:30 p.m. Eastern/Pacific Times and at 8:30 Central/Mountain Times, when there are millions of children in the audience.

 The episode included a reference to a vehicle that runs on carbon, oxygen, and potassium, dubbed the “Hummie C.O.K. Guzzler.” One character says “…wouldn't it run cleaner if they added another carbon molecule before the potassium? Then it would guzzle C.O.C.K.” The episode also included a depiction of ejaculation, with a character noting that he “splooged on the wall.” All of this material aired on the very same day that Seth MacFarlane was announced to be the host of next year’s Academy Awards.

“This past summer the United States Supreme Court unanimously upheld the congressionally mandated authority of the Federal Communications Commission to enforce the broadcast decency law, which prohibits the airing of indecent material on the publicly-owned airwaves during times when children are likely to be in the audience. We believe this broadcast has broken the law, and we are calling on the FCC to hold Fox and its affiliates accountable,” said PTC president Tim Winter.

 “This kind of content is nothing new from Fox or Seth MacFarlane. In the past, ‘American Dad’ and MacFarlane’s other programs have included scenes mocking people with Down syndrome, implying father-daughter incest, a man masturbating a horse, a baby eating horse sperm, and a character eating vomit and excrement out of a baby’s diaper. Some of those broadcasts are under review at the FCC for violating the broadcast decency law.

“This is the man that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has selected to host next year’s Oscars telecast, following in the footsteps of such Hollywood legends as Bob Hope and Johnny Carson?

 “The fact that this program is a cartoon only increases its allure for children. Even more insulting, Fox rated this episode as TV-14, meaning that they deem it to be appropriate for a 14-year-old child.

“Last spring, FCC Chairman Genachowski promised, ‘There is a [decency] law, and we will enforce it.’ We call upon the chairman to keep his promise and hold Fox accountable for airing indecent material on the public airwaves when they know children are in the audience,” concluded Winter.

To speak with a representative from the Parents Television Council, please contact Liz Krieger at (703) 683-5004 ext. 120 or Katie Glenn at (703) 683-5004, ext. 144.