On September 15, raunchy talk-show host Jerry Springer will kick off the 13th season of Fox’s “MADtv” by introducing a series of some of the show’s past comedy skits. One such segment lampooned the Catholic priesthood’s sex abuse scandals.
While most people would expect a program like “MADtv” to cause offense on a frequent basis, a look at the show’s history reveals little in the way of derogatory treatment of certain demographic groups. We found nothing in the way of complaints about the show from blacks, Hispanics, Jews, gays, or Muslims; one has to go back to 2000 for a sole complaint from an Asian-American advocacy group.
It’s the same old story–in the popular culture, most groups are off-limits when it comes to causing deliberate offense, but Catholic priests are fair game.
