NBC/Kanye West petition

The follow is from RuPaul's blog:

ASK NBC TO HONOR KANYE WEST'S FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS

Mr. Wright,

On Friday, September 2, 2005, recording artist Kanye West appeared on NBC with other celebrities to raise funds for Hurricane Katrina relief.

While on air, Mr. West made several remarks regarding the relief effort. Unfortunately, his remarks were removed from the west coast feed of the telecast. During repeat airings over the weekend, Mr. West's remarks were still censured. In fact, his remarks were only aired on cable news outlets, where his opinions were debated by reporters and politicians.

The irony, of course, is that his remarks were not available to viewers without access to (paid) cable television.

While all broadcast networks are obligated to censure obscenity, nudity and violence, I was disturbed that your network chose to censure political speech.

Mr. West had every right to express his political views. He did not use profanity, and (unlike the Reverend Pat Robertson), he did not advocate violence against anyone.

Please show Mr. West's comments, in their entirety, in all future broadcasts of the telethon. Your network's explanation that the views expressed were those of Mr. West and not of the network was sufficient as a disclaimer.

To remove his comments was a poor choice. It reflects badly on your network's commitment to freedom of speech. Like millions of other Americans, I believe that the First Amendment is worth protecting, and will NOT support a network that does not uphold it.

Thank you,
A Concerned Viewer
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