American rockstars Motley Crue (CDs) are getting ready to sue NBC for banning them from their station.

On the New Year’s Eve edition of The Tonight Show, singer Vince Neil shouted "Happy fucking New Year!" to Tommy Lee. Following the incident, Motley Crue appearances on other NBC shows, such as Last Call With Carson Daley and Late Night With Conan O’Brien have been scrapped. Now, Motley Crue are suing the station for violating their right to free speech.

"This ban constitutes governmentally pressured censorship and
violates the law the same as if the government itself had ordered
the censorship," states the suit.

NBC have responded by saying "To ensure compliance with
its broadcast standards, NBC has the right to decide not to invite
back guests who violate those standards and use an expletive during
a live entertainment program. The lawsuit Motley Crue has filed
against us is meritless."

The band’s lawyers are claiming that they’re being unfairly picked on. When Bono won a Golden Globe for U2’s contribution to the Gangs Of New York soundtrack, he declared it to be "fucking brilliant". Not only did the tiny Irish singer go without punishment, NBC went as far as defending him, saying it was "isolated and fleeting".

But since then Janet Jackson got her
bangers out at a football game, and the country’s conservatives have
used it to try to wipe anything remotely offensive from the airwaves.

So where do you stand on this? Are you with NBC, and think that
vulgarity is best left off our screens and should be kept where it is
most natural, like in childrens’ mouths? Or do you side with Motley
Crue and think that the right to vulgarity is The American Way, and
should manifest itself in TV shows like Desperate Shithead Housewives and News, Motherfucker? Let us know, why don’t you.

[story by Stuart Heritage]