Context or not, NBC's decision on 'N-word' challenged

The president of the Parents Television Council admits being surprised that NBC allowed the "N-word" to be aired six times in 30 minutes during a recent prime-time sitcom.

It happened on the June 21 episode of The Carmichael Show, a series that revolves around the lives of an "opinionated North Carolina family" where "nothing is too uncomfortable to explore." The website teaser for the June 21 episode reads: "When Jerrod's white friend casually drops the N-word, it sparks a heated debate."

OneNewsNow spoke with PTC president Tim Winter, who says such language is par for the course on the program.

"The Carmichael Show over the last year or two has taken on some issues that are inherently controversial – and this seems to be in line with some of the other controversial topics they've taken on," Winter offers. "I was surprised, though, that a mainstream media network like NBC would allow [use of the racial epithet] to air on a network and across their affiliates."

And while Winter realizes that the controversial word is being used more and more in the entertainment industry, he's hopeful that "those who decide to use that word will do so thoughtfully, responsibly, and not just in an effort to be provocative."

PTC sent an advisory message to parents before the show aired stating, in part: "We don't yet know what the context will be. For some people, 'N-word' context doesn't matter; while for others, context means everything."

That advisory message also called on NBC to give their affiliated stations and all of the show's advertisers an opportunity to review the program before deciding to air or financially support it. However, Winter doesn't know if that actually happened.