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Will Femia is a Weblog enthusiast who, through good fortune and dumb luck, was introduced to the form as his position as chat producer for MSNBC.com careered into obsolescence. On any given day, Will can be found having already spent an unhealthy amount of time squinting at a computer screen.

Send a message to Will at spotter@msnbc.com



That censored Sally Field line from her Emmy speech

Posted: Monday, September 17, 2007 12:00 AM by Will Femia

I admit I actually watched most of the Emmy Awards - or at least, it was on the TV while I sat on the couch editing photos of motorcycles, but to the extent that it seeped into my brain while I did so, I watched.

It would have been easy to believe that the cut away was a mistake given the remarkably poor production of the show, but it was pretty clear Sally Field was veering into an "off-script" moment. While looking for a bootleg or transcript of what happened I learned that "the cut-out was only in the USA and that Canada had an uninterrupted feed."

Sure enough, a Canadian blog had the line: "If mothers ruled the world, there'd be no goddamn wars in the first place."

ADDING: Finally, here's the unedited clip.

P.S. The right way and wrong way to blog the Emmys (Also worth a look is his entry on that head-scratcher of an award category, Interactive TV. I thought it was just an excuse for Fox to cross promote another Murdoch property, particularly with MySpaceTV blurring the definition of broadcast network. Awarding Current TV doesn't fit that conspiracy theory very well, however.)

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Geez...how long is the lag time on the Emmy's?  I've heard of shows having a couple of seconds in case of profanity, but someone had to hear what Sally said, and then decide it wasn't fit for American ears, make the cutaway, etc.  So much for "live" TV.  I was paying about as much attention to the Emmy's as Will was, but the show definitely seemed to be particularly amateurish this year.

Laurah in NY (Sent Monday, September 17, 2007 9:16 AM)

What Sally Fields MEANT to say was:

"If non-Muslim mothers ruled the world, there'd be no goddamn wars in the first place!", since in many Islamic countries, mothers encourage their spawn to Jihad.

Emma Morrow (Sent Monday, September 17, 2007 12:11 PM)

I know a lot of people will say the Emmys cut from Sally Field because of her war criticism, but I think it has more to do with her use of the word "goddamned." In FCC world, you can say "god" and you can say "damned," but you get fined if you combine them.

Clint, CHicago, Illinois (Sent Monday, September 17, 2007 12:12 PM)

I haven't watched the Emmy Awards in quite some time, but decided to give it a try this year (like Will, in the background while I was on my laptop).  Phew, what a stinker. That theatre in the round setup was disastrous, and I can't believe the censors cut away to ceiling shots.  I'm not sure what Ray Romano said, but it can't much worse than the raunchy lines coming out of Brad Garrett's mouth. Oh, but that's right, Garrett is on a Fox sitcom.  Will, I think you're right about Fox using the new category to promote MySpace, just as about half the presenters were from Fox shows.  However, they don't choose the winners so would have no control over Current TV winning.

CindyW, Redmond, WA (Sent Monday, September 17, 2007 1:06 PM)

ALSO- I cannot believe MSM had more info on OJ and the emmys than they did on the war protest.

toldyouso (Sent Monday, September 17, 2007 2:45 PM)

I am so sick of all the censorship in this country.  This is supposed to be a free country. The FCC should be
done away with. The people who want government control over everything in their life need to get off their butts and do something for themselves.

toldyouso (Sent Monday, September 17, 2007 2:46 PM)

Well, so much for free speech.  When is this country going to move into the 21st century??

Angie, Texas (Sent Monday, September 17, 2007 4:36 PM)

Imagine if she had said "Mohammed damned".  Sally might experience a bit more than censorship.

Mike Doe, Seattle, Wash. (Sent Monday, September 17, 2007 5:03 PM)

I bet we can we say "Holy Cow" on TV, and no Hindus will offended.

Brad, Spokane, Wa (Sent Monday, September 17, 2007 7:26 PM)

As much as I agree with Sally and admire her work, I think the Emmy awards should be about entertainment and not politics. I'm sad that so many people whose jobs especially include expression of our spoken word have to resort to profanity to get their message across.

delphia, kenai ak (Sent Tuesday, September 18, 2007 11:21 AM)

Speaking of cows, didn't the host of the Emmys get censored for something too? Saw her on Larry King last night talking about it, but couldn't watch long enough to find out what happened.

Joe, Dub-C, PA (Sent Tuesday, September 18, 2007 12:44 PM)

Everyday I read or experience something that I find out in one way or another has been censored, limited, or simply not available here in America. How much longer will it be until we are afraid to stop speaking freely in America? Americans are truly clueless to the "brick-by-brick" wall that is being built around them. It's more than just speech, it's also the way we are living here in America.

Michael, Northern, Ilinois (Sent Tuesday, September 18, 2007 2:01 PM)

Those who live by the sword, die by the sword but if we did live in a perfect world where nothing ever goes wrong, no one ever does anyone else wrong, or you've got words dead wrong as cuss words. What Sally had to say was more than some fluff folks. You know we are full of ourselves and selflove and hooray for our side kind of crapola. Get real folks, I believe in God and I prayed for these miraculous photos online that you are seeing now and I am 100 percent sure that God found nothing wrong with what Sally had to say about it. You want more proof of a saint living among you all? Come see me.

Yeah, that's right! (Sent Wednesday, September 19, 2007 2:51 PM)

I've never really watched the emmy's since most of it is boring. Also why do the stars feel the need to spout their political views on a show that promotes their acting ability. If they are so adamant about the war buy air time or get a news show to interview them. Go to kids sporting events and listen to the mothers,they aren't so loving and nice when litle johnny doesn't win.or how about when they PMS ??!!!

Duane Carl Charlotte NC (Sent Monday, September 24, 2007 8:05 AM)

you can thank janet jackson and that timberlake guy for all this censoring, they got all the holier than thous the power, now we are more uptight and proper than when sen. Mcarthy started his witch hunt in the 50's.

Duane Carl Charlotte NC (Sent Monday, September 24, 2007 8:10 AM)

For some reason, they didn't cut away from Sally when I was watching the Emmy's... They only silenced "goddamn."

Alison, California (Sent Friday, September 28, 2007 5:20 PM)



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