PTC steaming over urine-drinking scene in MTV’s Ke$ha show
The PTC thinks Ke$ha has gone from bladder to worse.
The pro-family advocacy group is upset about Tuesday’s planned airing of “Ke$ha: My Crazy Beautiful Life,†in which the pop star supposedly drinks her own urine. Parents Television Council President Tim Winter is urging viewers to contact elected representatives to protest.
“If given the opportunity, I can’t imagine that parents would want to pay for a cable network that airs an episode of a pop star drinking her own urine, and that is why Congress needs to take seriously the idea of giving consumers the ability to choose and pay for only the cable networks they want,†Winter wrote in a statement.
PHOTOS: Celebrities by The Times
Conservatives have long pushed for such “a la carte†cable pricing, a concept that programmers -- who collect subscriber fees whether viewers watch their networks or not -- have vigorously opposed.
Earlier this year, Ke$ha described the on-camera stunt -- which she performed after a friend mentioned the supposed health benefits of drinking urine -- as “pretty gross.†“I wouldn’t recommend it,†she told The Hollywood Reporter.
Skeptics might smell a publicity stunt. A clip shows Ke$ha swirling a plastic bottle filled with a clear liquid that looks suspiciously like water, not bodily fluids.
Even so, the PTC thinks the “Die Young†singer is aiming for the wrong kind of No. 1.
What do you think of Ke$ha’s streaming stunt and the PTC backlash?
[Updated at 11:09 p.m.: A PTC spokesperson says that the issue of “cable choice†isn’t partisan and “shouldn’t highlight that just conservatives have pushed for this. In fact, this issue brings quite a variety of groups from both sides of the political aisle and those in between in support of cable choice.â€]
ALSO:
‘Arrested Development’s’ frozen banana stand hits L.A. area
CBS yanks ‘Mike & Molly’ season finale due to Oklahoma tornado
Review: ‘North America,’ Discovery Channel’s 7-part nature series
Twitter: @scottcollinsLAT
The complete guide to home viewing
Get Screen Gab for everything about the TV shows and streaming movies everyone’s talking about.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.