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Gay News: Canada's Broadcasting Standards Council has ruled that a version of "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits cannot be played on Canadian radio.
By: Nigel Robinson
Scene from Money for Nothing video
Scene from Money for Nothing video
Dire Straits song banned in Canada after gay complaint
14 January 2011
The Council made its ruling after a gay listener to radio station St John’s OZ FM complained of lyrics in the song which she claimed were “extremely offensive”.
The lyrics in question are: “The little faggot with the earring and the make-up/ Yeah, buddy, that’s his own hair/ That little faggot’s got his own jet airplane/ That little faggot, he’s a millionaire.”
In the song they are the words of a disgruntled store worker enviously watching a pop star performing in a music video.
The Broadcasting Standards Council agreed that the term “faggot” should be viewed in context, and that its use was more acceptable in 1985 when the song was written.
The Broadcasting Standards Council agreed that the term “faggot” should be viewed in context, and that its use was more acceptable in 1985 when the song was written.
However, it went on to rule that the song’s broadcast should reflect the social values of today and not those of twenty-five years ago.
The Council found that the song contained a word that referred to sexual orientation in a derogatory way, and that, by broadcasting it, St John’s OZ FM was in breach of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ Code of Ethics and Equitable Portrayal Code.
The radio station is allowed to play one of several abridged or altered versions of the song which omit the offensive term.
See the video of the full version here
