Gerry Ryan show rapped over sexually explicit reading
A listener complained to the Broadcasting Complaints Commission about the interview, which was broadcast on July 4 last and featured an interview with Julian Clary. Towards the end of the interview, Gerry Ryan invited the English comedian to read aloud a section of the book which referred “graphically to anal sex and ejaculation” and this section of the broadcast was the subject of complaint by listener Declan O’Hara.
The BCC upheld the complaint and ruled the broadcaster did not exercise due care with regard to the protection of children from sexual content. The commission noted that Gerry Ryan had encouraged Mr Clary to read the offending section, even after the interviewee suggested it was “too rude” for broadcast.
RTÉ said that Julian Clary was well-known as a camp performer “who relies heavily on innuendo and double entendre”, while Gerry Ryan was known for his “risqué streams of consciousness”.
Listeners would have had a good idea what to expect, according to RTÉ, while the sexual references would have gone over children’s heads. However, the commission found a broadcaster is obliged to exercise “due care” when broadcasting such material, particularly during the school holidays.
Meanwhile, the commission also found against RTÉ in reference to a complaint about the film, Derailed, featuring a graphic rape scene.
Complainant Philip Chambers took issue with licence fees being spent on funding such films and said he had to turn off his set.
RTÉ said the offending scene was broadcast after 10pm — one hour after the watershed — and any viewer watching from the beginning would have known there was a sex scene coming up. The violent rape scene “was not gratuitously inserted into the movie”, it said.
The commission decided that while it was evident from the start that a female and male character would have an affair, there was no indication of the upcoming level of violence.
“The commission would acknowledge that the rape scene was integral to the storyline. However, the degree of the sexual violence in the scene was overtly graphic and terrorising,” it said, upholding Mr Chambers’ complaint.
A radio advert for religious gifts related to Holy Communion was the subject of complaint by Peter McCarthy.
He said the ad for Veritas, which is owned by the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference, promoted one particular religion and this breached broadcasting guidelines.
The BCC upheld this complaint, saying the ad promoted gifts as being “what Holy Communion and Confirmation are really about” and encouraged people to visit the Veritas website “directed towards a religious end”.
THREE complaints were upheld by the BCC in its latest round of adjudications, while 24 were rejected. Among those rejected were:
* A complaint about the use of the word “bastard” by Fair City character Ali towards her boyfriend, Jimmy, whom she suspected of cheating on her. The commission found the word was used for dramatic effect and included in the script “to reflect the indignation the female character felt about her partner’s infidelity”.
* Another storyline in Fair City featuring a brother and sister having an incestuous affair was “an example of how morals and taste and decency in this country are a thing of the past”, according to a viewer. The BCC ruling found it was presented in a “responsible and non-gratuitous way,” and the relationship was not sensationalised or condoned.
* A complaint about the movie, Jackass, which depicted a character “inserting a model motor car into his rectum”. A complainant said this and other material in the film were offensive for the sake of being offensive. The commission said, while many would consider the subject matter “puerile,” there are others who wouldn’t. It was also shown late, with a warning, and “the brand of humour of Jackass is familiar to the audience.”
* A viewer complained TG4 travel show Porn in the USA by Hector Ó hEochagáin acted as a platform “to enable the de-sensitisation of viewers, particularly young people, to the abuses of the sex industry,” and said TG4 and Hector “seem to specialise in this”. The BCC found audiences would be familiar with the type of show presented by Hector and it was clear from the title what the subject matter would be.
* A complaint by Cllr Gerry Breen about a Marian Finucane radio interview with property developer Bernard McNamara, following the collapse of his public-private partnership deals with Dublin City Council, was rejected. The presenter ensured the subject matter was “treated fairly”, the BCC found.
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