Family Research Council President Tony Perkins has signed a letter urging the organizers of Super Bowl LIX to respect Louisiana’s community values and comply with state laws that protect minors from exposure to objectionable content during the halftime show. The letter, led by Louisiana State Senator Valarie Hodges, was sent in advance of the event scheduled for February 9 at New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome.
Perkins stated, “Hopefully, this year’s Super Bowl halftime show will not be out of bounds for the hundreds of thousands of families that will be watching. But it is not only about protecting children, important as that is, but also upholding community standards. The Super Bowl organizers need to abide by the community standards that the citizens of Louisiana have adopted.”
The letter addresses concerns about past halftime performances and references a notable incident from 2004 involving Janet Jackson. It states: “While certainly a large amount of support exists among many Louisianians who are excited about the Super Bowl coming back to New Orleans, many are also hardworking taxpayers with children who have serious concerns about the fact that past Super Bowl halftime performances have been less than family-friendly…who can forget the infamous 2004 halftime show with Janet Jackson disrobing? Jackson’s exposed bare breast was excused by one of her fellow performers as a ‘wardrobe malfunction’ but it initially generated a fine against CBS from the FCC for more than $500,000.
“Had that 2004 performance taken place in Louisiana and been proven to be intentional, it would have violated Louisiana’s obscenity law (R.S. 14:106) which prohibits such public exposure.”
The full text of the letter is available online at https://downloads.frc.org/EF/EF25A106.pdf. In addition, Senator Hodges discussed the letter in an interview on FRC’s Washington Watch program, which can be viewed at https://youtu.be/ay_EwYJI-go.
