DOCUMENT: Celebrity, Stupid

Palin Success Triggered FCC Complaints

Voting, hug angered “Dancing with the Stars" viewers

Bristol Palin

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Bristol Palin FCC Letters

DECEMBER 6--In the days after Bristol Palin was voted into the finals of “Dancing with the Stars,” viewers from across the country wrote to the Federal Communications Commission accusing the ABC show of everything from running a “payola type program” to “encouraging and promoting teen pregnancy.”

Many of the complainants, whose letters were obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, were upset that, as one Oregonian put it, “the top scores were voted off yet Sarah Palin’s daughter remained on.”

One viewer from Pittsburgh alleged that the show’s voting system had been “fixed by extreme supporters of the Tea Party and Radical Right-Wing. I find that it has become a political platform for Sarah Palin to improve her image and ooze her political slime.” The aggrieved correspondent continued, “Bristol is not a star, what did she do, she had sex and got pregnant. Lets reward her…I made several call to ABC’s complaint line and I hope that their phone lines melt. It has become a political movement, with Tea Party websites instructing on how to vote for Bristol. Ridiculousness!”

Another source of grievances was a hug delivered to the 20-year-old Palin by one of the show’s judges, Carrie Ann Inaba.

Noting that “no other dancer was called over for a hug,” one viewer claimed that the clinch was a “signal for the GOP/Tea Party supporters of Sarah Palin to ‘stuff’ the vote for Bristol Palin, who on both dates had to be dragged over the dance floor.” The writer added, “My 96 year old Mother-in-Law can dance better than Ms. Palin...I want my Government to protect me the viewer from deceptive practices.”

A Cerritos, California resident reported that the “physical contact” made by Inaba “sets the contestant up for thinking the judge will favor them. She was impartial to one and partial to the others.”

Other viewers sought an FCC probe of the show’s voting, since “people are bragging how they ‘gamed the system'.” Two other viewers (one from Indianapolis, the other a Brooklynite) were upset that Palin beat out the R&B singer Brandy for the last spot in the program’s three-person final.

Palin, whose baffling success led one man to blast his own TV set, ultimately finished third behind actors Jennifer Grey and Kyle Massey in the November 23 “Dancing with the Stars” finale. It is unclear whether the FCC received complaints about the outcome of that vote. (7 pages)

Comments (218)

All this hoopla over Bristol [pork chop] Palin Who cares
Chinastuff is a online store from China with branch offices in Singapore, and China. Coach Totes
Stupid liberals calling the FCC. It takes nothing to drive you over the edge! LOL- what a bunch of nutcases!!
I am a Liberal, but, does that sound familiar.. Gov Palins daughter Ms Bristol was invited to be one of the guest on DWTS to perform. She started slow but finished big, did a much better job then most of us.could or would. Was she the best dancer on the show, no. Why do you think shes getting all this abuse from the Left. She tried her best just like our daughter or son would do. Please give credit when credit is due. Bristol your were great. Thanks. Now do you think I am a Liberal. hahaha
YOU are nothing but a BAGGER and a LIAR. Internet troll being paid off by the baggers.. NO LIBERAL would EVER say "abuse from the left" when referring to the evil, retarded monsters that are the pain-lins.
im a "typical lib" i dont watch DWTS.. im an unwed mother, im not on govt assistance, and i think the entire palin family is nuts. Put that in your republican, homophobic, hypocritical pipes and SMOKE IT.. and PLEASE inhale..
Amen sister!!
Thank you for sharing. Is there some reason why you think anyone should care?
I'm not sure which disturbs me more, that there are people so wrapped up in this stuff that it warranted sending letters to the FCC or that a Federal agency that my taxes fund had to spend time and resources on processing these letter not once, but twice (once when the got them and then the open records request). C'mon people, come join us in the real world outside that shiny magic picture box sitting in your living room.
Sarah Palin is a phony and also a Rothschild lap dog.
Liberals, as your astute liberal democRAT, Alan Grayson, once said, STFU! This is a REALITY SHOW, people can vote for the winner, the results were eerily similar to the results of the Nov. 2nd elections. Hmmmmm?
This is a REALITY SHOW THAT RETARDED BAGGERS THOUGHT WAS A PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. They are proof there should be an IQ requirement to procreate.
First of all, regardless of why Bristol Palin was "dragged" through to the end, I will never, ever watch DWTS again. While I'm sure her mother (Grizzly mom) said to "vote for Bristol", Those folks are to busy worrying about the state of the country to waste their time on "C+" entertainment. For those of you liberals who thought there was a conspiracy hatched by the Tea Party to keep her on...most of them were probably in bed fast asleep (like I was) because this show had nothing to do with fixing our country. Call it what you will, but in my interaction with people who watched the show, this is the first year that young people who idolize those who do not conform to societies norms voted. Young people do some incredible things at times...I think this was one of those things. Further, I think until the very end, most of them thought that they were doing the right thing for Bristol. Even Bristol at one point on an interview started calling people who called for her removal..."Haters" (I was one of them). What really surprised me is the more I talked to folks after Brandy was voted off, most of the people admitted that they had more than 5 accounts they were using to keep Brandy on the show. I was shocked...really???...a dancing reality show makes people find ways to cheat? Sorry for the sarcasm, but I also believe that many of our young people also committ such baffoonery. Maybe next time you should take off your blinders and look at the whole picture before making something so obvious into a dark political statement! Those of you blaming the Tea Party, Liberals, the FCC, or anyone group you can lash out at...have ruined the experience for me. Thanks!
This says it all: If a conservative doesn't like guns, he doesn`t buy one. If a liberal doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed. If a conservative is a vegetarian , he doesn't eat meat. If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone. If a conservative is homosexual, he quietly leads his life. If a liberal is homosexual, he demands legislated respect. If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation. A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him. If a conservative doesn't like a talk show host , he switches channels. Liberals demand that those they don't like be shut down. If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church. A liberal non-believer wants any mention of God and religion silenced. (Unless it's a foreign religion, of course!) If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it. A liberal demands that the rest of us pay for his. If a conservative reads this, he'll forward it so his friends can have a good laugh. A liberal will delete it because he's "offended".
You are a moron who believes in fairy tales so your opinion on anything is moot.
Sounds like your the moron here stephie mark.
An ex FCC employee here. I worked in the FCC National Call Center in the mid to late 90's. I and others that worked in the call center took millions of complaints in that time. Hundreds thousands of complaints were about "conservative or Republican" oriented broadcasts. It was easy to determine, by questioning many liberal callers, that the caller had never watched the television show or listened to the radio broadcast the caller was complaining about. Consumer Advocate Mediation Specialist (CAMS) FCC call center employee frequently heard the same complaint, word for word, 50 to 100 times in one day! The conservative call in complaint campaigns that were organized, almost exclusively had to do with religious issues, not about an issue as mundane and lacking merit for complaint as Bristol Palin’s “Dancing with the Stars”! Liberal callers were and still are, the most verbally abusive, vicious, obscene people showing an extreme lack respect and disdain for the CAMS working at the call center. The liberal callers threatened to file a complaint about me (and other CAMS) with their representatives or senators when we did not comply with their demands to remove conservative shows from TV and radio. No congressional inquiry was made about my refusals. Conservatives frequently wrote their representatives praising the CAMS they had spoken to, liberals did not! The politicians forwarded copies of these letters to the FCC. What “these” liberals don’t understand is that the FCC has no legal authority, due to the restraints of the Constitution of the United States, to do anything about an issue such as, Bristol Palin “Dancing with the Stars”! But I am sure that the liberals would change the Constitution, if they could, so all conservative programming could be banned forever from television and radio broadcasts! I am in my 60’s now, and it seems every year as I get older, the liberals grow worse in their expectations and their vitriol!
That's because we are OUTRAGED at what you idiots have done to our country.
Thanks for providing even more evidence of liberal vitriol based on your experience at FCC. I believe liberals know they're the most hateful, but BECAUSE they're so hateful, they just don't care that everyone knows it!
I just love ANY story that makes the looney-left whine & moan.
What's extremely hilarious is that the same liberal jerks who pretend to be offended by Bristol Palin having a child out of wedlock, either, A) have a child out of wedlock THEMSELVES; or B) are friends with or related to someone WITH a child out of wedlock. These same HYPOCRITS SAY NOTHING when it's one of their little Hollywood people like Kourtney Kardashian who has a child out of wedlock or any other moronic slutty star. So...until you hypocrits have the same standard for ALL conservative AND liberal women, I would seriously recommend you hasten to STFU and spare us your BLATANT hypocrisy because your extreme bias is extremely transparent!
The intellectual dishonesty of liberals is staggering. It it weren't so pathetic It would be humorous. Their feigned offense over the "immorality" of an out of wedlock pregnancy of a conservative (or any perceived "enemy" of the Left), is comical, as their twisted definition of morality is to say it is immoral to question someone else's "morality," i.e.they being the champions of premarital sex, homosexuality, abortion. And yet they would have just as likely attacked Bristol Palin if she had an abortion (God forbid) -- their sacred cow of feminine rights.
You liberals crack me up. You have been illegally "stuffing" ballots in everything including the Thanksgiving turkey ever since the 60's. Conservatives do it legally and you have to get the FCC involved? You want to go to court because you lost a popularity contest? This is just the beginning, Obama has awakened the conservative masses and they will not go back to sleep for a long long time.....and there are so many of them (outside of California).....and they vote. 2010 was the preseason, we sent in the rookies. They did well. Now it is time for the big boys and girls. Be afraid little progressives, very afraid because there are more of us then there are of you and when it comes to your opinion of BP, well we just don't care.
For your information, the Black kid name was Cory. He was a better dance than bristol. I am glad that they are checking into this. The name of the show is Dancing with the stars not dancing with the palins. All the dancers that were on the shows they were famous people. Palin could not hold her job in Alaska as governor because she wanted to make money. How is she going to hold it as president. Wake up people.
Paula6 - while I respect your opinion, you have a couple of points wrong. While I am a part time GOP supporter, I loathe Sara Palin and hope the GOP can come up with a better candidate. But your statement about her just quiting to make money couldn't be farther from the truth. The reality is, that the liberals attacked her with so many lawsuits, her salary couldn't support defending/answering all of them. Rather than pass that along to the Alaskan Tax Payer, she resigned to find opportunities elsewhere to help foot the bills. How did I find out about this you ask? Well, for starters, listening to people like you makes me do research on the subject. When I find more than one colaberative source, then I more than likely have found the truth. Saying things because you have an uninformed opinion is as bad as committing slander. You know, maybe you say these things just to grip on someone for who they are? I have never done that to our current sitting president!! In fact, I wanted him to succeed. If it wasn't for the greedy politicians and the progressive movement within Congress making this great country into a third rate amateur, this country would be doing OK. Notice I didn't point the finger at either party or belief...because EVERYONE from both parties are guilty, Paula! Get over yourself.
Wow. The hatred of the Palins knows no bounds. I was no big fan of Sarah Palin, but the ugliness and hatred spewed upon her and her daughter by liberals is quickly turning me into a Palin supporter.
One of the typical libs actually said that they expect the government to "protect" them from deceptive practices. If that was the government's job then NBC would not be allowed to broadcast any news programs.
Great point! MSNBC should be taken of the air, and Keith Overhisheadmann should be sent to the loony pen.
I love how it eats them up inside. And I bet these complainers didn't have any problems with ACORN basically doing the same thing to get the anointed one elected. Probably because they were too lazy to get off the couch. I was so happy for Bristol. She deserved every bit of the accolades. Who cares if she's not the best, it's a fun show not an Olympic event. I swear some people are so uptight.
How right you are! When the host's said "vote for your favorite couple" they didn't say..."vote for the best dancer". I dare any of the upset folks out there to challenge that statement...because it is true...watch the episodes! As for ACORN, well...if that is what it took to elect someone, this country is in worse shape that anyone is willing to admit to...God help us!
What happen to all of the liberal tolerence speaches. Change chanels or turn the damn thing off. Believe it or not it is that simple
People on the left are so predictable, every time a vote goes against them the "fix is in". Give it a rest!
Why is it the BLUE states come up with bullSH** like this, can't they be more creative? I've noticed BLUE states have more money problems then the RED states? BLUE states have more teen pregnancies then RED states, BLUE states also have more single parent families then RED states. Greater crime rates... Oh ya BLUE states voted for Obama. Americans elected Obama based on everything but his merit mostly because they thought it would be real neat to have a black President... Dumb is as dumb does, liberals make me sick they vote in a man/child that pretends to be black, when he's more white then black, why he's more Arab then black. They give Bristol Palin a tough time because she made a mistake, "SHES" trying to do something positive with her life. Liberals on the other hand will continue to do really dumb things, like vote for other liberals like "Rangle", "Pelosi", "Maxine Waters" and "Reid", all liars, cheats and thieves... FYI - In New York Teen Pregnancy Rate for whites is 44 per 1000, blacks 149 per 1000, Hispanics 126 per 1000, looks like LIBERALS ARE F**KED all the way round...
ALL "CONSERVATIVE" COMMENTATORS THESE ARE JUST INTERNET TROLLS BEING PAID OFF BY THE BAGGER PARTY! DON'T BELIEVE THE (PAID) HYPE! http://tinyurl.com/2u53q76 The real story on alternet.org regarding why there are so many "conservative" liars on message boards all of a sudden. I'm so sick of poor people being manipulated by baggers and "conservatives". WAKE UP they have DESTROYED this country! Our jobs have gone overseas because of their policies. The only people enriched by Regan-nomics and conservative policies are the super rich (about 1% of the population) PAY ATTENTION, THEY ARE MASTERS OF THE LIE. THESE ARE ALL THE SAME MORONS THAT WASTED THEIR LIFE VOTING FOR THE COW ON DANCING WITH THE STARS.
I've never watched the show . The people who are upset simply because Sara Palin's daughter is doing so well are,well, not doing so well. If you liberals are upset over something so trivial as a dancing contest, then you may need to seek help. Divine help!
Otis, they are to busy removing the "divine help" from the halls of Government and our society. I don't think they will turn to him until it is to late! Enjoy!
Well, most TV's and their remotes have a power and/or channel button. If you feel that strongly about it, change channels or turn the dang thing off.
Isn't this something like the girl who called 911 because McDonald's didn't have chicken nuggets? The Libs are just like a bunch of bratty little kids. If they can't get their own way, they throw temper tantrums. Shame on anyone who cheated by making up fake email addresses and shame on ABC for not preventing this but lets face facts, the Lefties cheat their way into public office every election. If you don't like the Palins, don't watch the show and shut up. Period!
Don't understand all of the complaints. I never watch Dancing with the Stars (or any other stupid "reality show"). As I understand it Viewers vote for their favorites. Really doesn't have much to do with talent, its more a love affair with the contestant, than their talent. So what is the big deal? Really? How petty. If Bristol Palin had a larger following that someone more talented so be it. When it comes to so called Talent, there are a lot of supposedly great entertainers that I wouldn't give a dollar to see on stag, in the movies, listen to their "music". Palin won with the votes of the viewing public, what do you expect the FCC to do? She won, get over it.
Bristol Palin was kept on the show because the producers knew she would attract more viewers than any of the other so called celebrities. And she did. We're still talking about her. Had nothing to do with talent. Had everything to do with ratings and advertising dollars. Show biz, folks. Don't take it so seriously.
You are right shades except she didn't win. All these people are wacked out just because she got to the top 3. Donnie Osmond wasn't the best but he was good and I liked him and voted for him. The best doesn't always win but I must say I wish Brandy won instead of Jennifer Grey. Jennifer Grey spent the entire season crying and whining for sympathy until the last two weeks. It made me SICK!!
As I said, I never watch. With all of the grief expressed here I thought she won. My Bad. Makes this whole conversation even more dumb. LOL
You are right shades except she didn't win. All these people are wacked out just because she got to the top 3. Donnie Osmond wasn't the best but he was good and I liked him and voted for him. The best doesn't always win but I must say I wish Brandy won instead of Jennifer Grey. Jennifer Grey spent the entire season crying and whining for sympathy until the last two weeks. It made me SICK!!
This is great..love it when you libs get bent out of shape about the Palins. Just think in two years when O-Blah ' Blah is long gone and Sarah is President, what will you do then? One other thing..why dosen't anybody ever talk about Brandy being a MURDER? She did Murder someone in LA on some road or highway!
Any one who watches Dancing with the stars knows nothing about politics. In fact anyone who watches Dancing With the Stars knows nothing about anything. But at least Chrystal did exert the effort to dance for a prize while Obama got a Noble Peace Prize for doing what? Nothing!
Great Point! BUT! Don't bring facts to this Libtard pissing match!!
I watch Dancing with the Stars and I am a political junky too. You can't live every waking hour of every day eating & drinking politics. I don't want to watch people trashing other people but there are some talent contests that are nice to relax and watch. Lighten up Clinger.
I cannot believe I am wasting my time commenting (first visit here) but I couldn't resist. I agree with part of ProudMary's comments - commit to one individual for life and get married before conceiving. In this case, the sleeze is the daughter of a popular cheerleader who lost the election for the Manchurian Candidate McCain and then quit her job to bounce around the country looking cute and pretending she is presidential material. (God help the Repubs if they nominate her!) But in most cases, the sleezy unwed sluts who pop out bastards are on the public dole. Unfortunately, our Great Society of welfare has replaced the fathers of the households and promotes this behavior. So many knocked up girls end up living off the government teet, with Baby Daddies stopping by for a quickie and a meal. We pay for them, whether we are liberal or conservative, Democrat, Republican or Independent. Big Government has contributed to the moral decay of our society with the welfare state. Regarding the content of the story, I am astonished that anybody would even think about calling the FCC to complain about an idiotic, ridiculous, mind-numbing, time-destroying, useless television show. I first suspected that perhaps it was the generational welfarians who made these complaints -- but then wondered if any of them really knew how to contact the FCC. The seed must have been planted in their minds by some schmendrick on another dumb TV show. Read "Trickle Up Poverty" to save the country before 2012!!! I could go on, but that's enough. I need to get back to watching "A Charlie Brown Christmas"......
You are a very narrow minded individual. Bristol Palin is not on the public dole, her family loves & supports her, she also works. Your opinion of young women as "sleezy unwed sluts who pop out bastards" is more telling about you as an individual than it is an insult to Palin. I suppose you never convinced a young women, in the back seat of your Chevy or Ford, that you loved her and if she loved you she would do it. I bet you did. Doesn't make her a slut. Makes you a Cad. Young girls are all about love & forever. Some guys will say anything to get what they want. For your information even before welfare young unwed women had babies. Get real. Step down from you pious high horse.
Oh WOW John! It's so nice to know you were a virgin when you got married!! You were a virgin weren't you? I wanted to wait until I got married. I didn't. Let the first person who didn't loose his/her virginity before marriage cast the first stone. I am a celibate Christian now but are you pure John Que Publick???