M.I.A. Flips The Bird, Still No Fine?

Celebrities continue to criticize musician M.I.A for flipping her middle finger at a camera during the Super Bowl recently while the industry’s regulating agency—which M.I.A. has long fought—debates sanctions for the action.

During her halftime performance with Madonna, who has since condemned the gesture, M.I.A. grabbed the audience’s attention by flipping the bird. Censors watching the broadcast were not able to see the gesture in time to blur it for broadcast.

NBC, which televised this year’s Super Bowl, and the NFL immediately bounced blame off each other—NBC asserted that “the NFL hired the talent and produced” the show while the NFL said that it was a “failure in NBC’s delay system” that allowed the gesture to air, calling it “completely inappropriate” and “obscene.” Dubbing M.I.A.’s actions “obscene” is a loaded assertion since the Federal Communications Commission deems airing “obscene content at any time” a violation of federal law.By Feb. 6, the word “obscene” had been stricken from the NFL’s statement.

In 2004, the FCC fined CBS $550,000 for Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction,” in which it appeared that Jackson’s bare breast was exposed during a Super Bowl show. CBS challenged the fine, which was then dropped.

What’s still unclear more than a week after the Super Bowl is whether the FCC will fine anyone—and if the fine will fall on NBC, the NFL, or M.I.A.

While NFL spokesman Greg Aiello wouldn’t say whether M.I.A. potentially faces financial liability for her actions during the halftime show, he did saythat the NFL has “[safeguards regarding artist conduct] written into their contracts,” which means that M.I.A. is probably in breach of contract—and that she may be the one to face the fine.

The Supreme Court is currently deciding the constitutionality of the FCC’s“fleeting expletive” policy, which is extremely relevant to M.I.A. While it is likely that the Super Bowl will come before the commission, the FCC will probably delay any action until the Supreme Court makes a decision.

Recently on All Things Considered, American University law professor Ira Robbins made the case that the middle finger just isn’t obscene anymore. He argued that now it’s just a “part of the mainstream of American culture.”

The Parents Television Council, leaders in bringing complaints to the FCC about Jackson’s 2004 “wardrobe malfunction,” also filed complaints about M.I.A., saying:

It has been eight years since the Janet Jackson striptease, and both NBC and the NFL knew full well what might happen. They chose a lineup full of performers who have based their careers on shock, profanity, and titillation. Instead of preventing indecent material, they enabled it. M.I.A. used a middle finger shamelessly to bring controversial attention to herself, while effectively telling an audience filled with children, ‘eff-you.’

Madonna has finally spoken out about the incident, calling M.I.A.’s actions “negative,” “teenager,” “irrelevant,” and “out of place.”

“I wasn't happy about it,” she said.

But M.I.A. is no stranger to controversy—or for standing up for herself in light of censorship.

Her music video Sunshowers was banned from MTV after she refused to remove the lyrics “You wanna go? You wanna winna war? Like PLO [Palestinian Liberation Organization], I don't surrendo.”

But M.I.A. has been publicly silent since her most recent incident. A decision from the Supreme Court on the FCC’s guidelines isn’t expected until June.

Dahlia Grossman-Heinze is a staff writer for Campus Progress. Follow her on Twitter @salvadordahlia.

Related Stories

• HBO’s ‘Girls’—More Progressive Than Carrie Bradshaw, But Still White-Only
• British TV Ad Asks: Watching Yourself, ‘Would You See Rape?’
• Fashion Line Refuses to Reveal Aboriginal Artist Behind Newest Collection
• Transgender Miss Universe Contestant Cleared for Competition [UPDATED]
• Why A Diverse ‘Dancing with the Stars’ Cast Isn’t Making Progress