Workplace Sex Hijinks on NBC's Superstore

Hollywood's history of sexual harassment carries over into its "entertainment" programming. Given the explosion of workplace sexual harassment claims currently erupting in Hollywood, it is the height of hypocrisy for the entertainment industry to portray grossly inappropriate sexual contact in the workplace as humorous...yet that's exactly what occurred on the Thursday, November 2nd episode of NBC's Superstore. In the episode, store manager Glenn discovers an odd-looking mole on his genitals. Naturally, his reaction is to display his genitals to his assistant manager, Dina. (Dina helpfully sneers, “There’s nothing you could possibly have going on with your junk that would faze me.” While viewing Glenn's penis, she remarks ,“Your ability to remain un-erect is really impressive.”) Dina then takes a photo of Glenn's genitals to send to her dermatologist -- with co-worker Garrett entering the room while all this is going on. NBC airs Superstore at the very beginning of the Family Hour, 8:00 p.m. Eastern/Pacific, 7 pm Central/Mountain. It rated this episode TV-14 DL, meaning that according to NBC, the show was appropriate for 14 year olds, and contained sexual dialogue, but no actual sexual content (in spite of the scenes showing blurred genitalia). Of course, in reality any store manager who exposed himself to his staff would be fired instantly, and would be lucky not to face legal action. But as America is learning, that's not the way it works in Hollywood, where sexual harassment is commonplace. In fact, as Superstore demonstrates, those in Hollywood think sexual harassment is something to be laughed about. Given the lawsuits piling up in Tinseltown, maybe someday those responsible for creating "entertainment" will realize that most of the country doesn't consider workplace sexual harassment a joke.