Controversial Talk Show "Jose Luis Sin Censura" Removed From Airwaves

Lea Versión en Español

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) announced Friday that the controversial show of Liberman Broadcasting, Inc. "Jose Luis sin Censura" was removed from the airwaves following a campaign of 18 months.

“José Luis Sin Censura,” produced and broadcast by Liberman Broadcasting, Inc. (LBI) on the EstrellaTV network, has been permanently removed from the broadcast schedule, said Rich Ferraro, Director of Communications of GLAAD

NHMC and GLAAD were informed of this development in a letter from Winter Horton, LBI’s Chief Operating Officer. The show was broadcast during the daytime in over 30 markets across the country.

The removal of the show comes after a campaign during which dozens of organizations and thousands of individuals were mobilized, many via a petition at Change.org.

At the outset of the campaign, GLAAD and NHMC filed a nearly 200-page formal complaint with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and contacted dozens of major advertisers whose ads appeared during the program.

The campaign resulted in an ongoing investigation by the FCC and a number of advertisers withdrawing their support of the show including AT&T, Time Warner Cable, and Western Dental.

To view video footage of the violence against LGBT people which was featured and encouraged on the show, along with photos of the delivery of the Change.org petition calling on LBI to take action visit: http://www.glaad.org/jlsc.

Recent episodes featured audiences chanting “puta" ("Whore! Whore! Whore!") at a female guest. In addition, audience members were allowed to chant “puto! puto! puto!” (or "f*ggot") at a man they thought to be gay. In the past, the show often included the words "pinche" ("f*cking" in English) and "culero" ("assf*cker"), anti-gay language, including epithets such as "puto," "maricón," "joto" and "puñal" (or "f*ggot"), anti-Latino slurs, such as "mojado" ("wetback"), and anti-female terms such as "piruja" and  "puta" ("whore").

The program frequently featured blatant nudity and female guests were shown in violent fights. Guests and audience members were often incited to engage in verbal and physical attacks. Many episodes showed the audience standing and shouting anti-gay epithets and profanity at guests.

“This is a hard-fought victory for tolerance, inclusion, and decency and it is further proof that programming that degrades or threatens the safety of entire segments of our population has no place in this country. For broadcasters that choose this path, this will always be the outcome. Spreading hatred and bigotry is not a sustainable business model,” said Alex Nogales, President & CEO of NHMC.

“Content that appeared on this show fueled violence against our community, which is growing and impacting so many families. Thanks to thousands of LGBT, Latino Americans and allies, LBI took action,” said GLAAD President Herndon Graddick. “The company should now join so many other Spanish-language broadcasters in presenting stories that inspire and create change, not fuel a climate of intolerance and violence.”

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