WWE remarks 'blasphemous'

2006-09-28 11:37

Liesl Pretorius

Johannesburg - A "novelty" in the TV wrestling programme WWE Raw "went too far", the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCC) has ruled.

The BCC found that remarks from the WWE chairperson and wrestler Vince McMahon in a broadcast of the programme on e.tv were blasphemous and represented hate speech based on religion.

"I was absolutely furious that such material was being broadcast in South Africa," reads one of the complaints.

In the episode, McMahon's son Shane fights against another wrestler, John. McMahon flattens John with an electrical appliance, and then tells him: ''I told you, John. God is not on your side tonight. God has forsaken you.

"What's the chance that you will win against me and my son. You and God do not stand a chance."

Channel e.tv argued that these remarks should be judged as entertainment and were not intended to be derogatory.

But the commission thought McMahon portrayed God as a loser and that his remarks romanticised religion-based violence.

The commission decided not to fine e.tv.

The BCC found that children were sufficiently protected by the PG10 age restriction on the programme.

In another decision, the BCC rejected a complaint that the soap opera Passions contravened the broadcasting code because of sex and horror scenes.

- Beeld