Canadian FCC Slams DJ for Implying Justin Bieber Is Gay

Getty

There's been some discussion of late over the "sexualization of children" in media, thanks to that racy GQ pictorial featuring the cast of Glee.

Up in Canada, it's a hot topic too, although on an entirely different front.

The Canadian Broadcasting Standards Council (the northern neighbor's version of the FCC) has slammed a Toronto radio station and its shock jock for making crude comments about pop sensation Justin Bieber and his legion of teenaged fans. The agency has just published an interesting ruling against the station, CFNY-FM ("The Edge"), that finds there is "no justification for allegedly humorous references to children in sexual contexts."

The controversy began last October with a Twitter message published by CFNY's radio host Dean Blundell about his distaste for Bieber. The host also implied the singer was gay. 

Bieber has one of the strongest followings on Twitter, accounting for 3 percent of all traffic on the website, according to one recent study. Predictably, Bieber's fans unleashed their venom on Blundell.

Blundell tweeted back: "Save your energy for puberty or to fend off your dad tonight while you’re sleepin’.”

The exchange then became the topic of conversation on Blundell's radio show. He repeated his tweets, and several responses, and referred to one 12-year-old critic as a future "chugger," slang for a male prostitute.

The broadcast drew numerous listener complaints. The CBSC opened an investigation.

In June, the CBSC made its decision, which has just come to light this week.  The regulatory agency found Blundell's comments to be "gratuitous and unnecessary" and a violation of the Equitable Portrayal Code. The station's penalty was to announce the decision twice on air during peak listening hours.