‘The Mick’ Under Fire For Indecency By P.T.C. And They Cite George Carlin To Prove Their Point

The Mick is at its best, when it uses crude humor and cheap laughs to drive a crucial point home and leaves viewers laughing at the absurdity of life. Such was the case in the recent episode, “The Implant,” in which 17-year-old Sabrina Pemberton (played by 25-year-old Sofia Black-D’Elia) tells her guardian Micky (Kaitlin Olson) that she wants breast implants. The two end up taking the implants for a “test drive” and, as might be expected hilarious high-jinks ensue. While most people view the episode as nice 30 minute diversion, the Parents Television Council has a different take on it.

The P.T.C. Launches an Attack on The Mick and They’re Using George Carlin to Do It

While P.T.C. takes exception to The Mick as a whole, declaring the entire series inappropriate for all audiences viewing television during typical prime time hours, TV News Check reports that “The Implant” evokes their biggest complaints. One particular scene has teenager Sabrina accusing her Aunt Micky of “working the room like you’re mayor of t-t town,” as the Olson character flaunts the implants, which she has inserted into her bra.

P.T.C. cites recent sexual harassment charges levied at Fox News employees in suggesting the network, which also airs The Mick, would take better care not to allow for scenes that “blatantly sexualizes a 17-year-old girl.”

Never mind the fact that Black-D’Elia hasn’t been considered a minor for several years.

The complaint by the Parents Television Council continues, citing a comedy routine made famous by George Carlin as evidence that The Mick has displayed inappropriate behavior and dialogue.

“George Carlin’s infamous comedy routine about the seven words you can’t say on television is still an unofficial guideline the FCC uses to determine whether language is in violation of federal indecency laws,” stated P.T.C. president Tim Winter. “At times of the day when children are likely to be watching broadcast TV, ‘t-t’ is one of those words. If Fox wanted to air this program just as it was produced, it could have done so after 10pm or it could have moved the show to one of the several cable networks it owns.”

Sofia Black-D’Elia Defends The Mick

The start of the criticized episode reveals that Sabrina is turning 18 and that the implants were a gift from her mother, but, as Sofia shares in penning an essay for Entertainment Weekly, The Mick showrunners still ran the concept by the actress. Ms. Black-D’Elia says her bosses, John and Dave Chernin, wanted to be sure she was okay with the scenes and with the idea of tackling the topic of breast implants in general.

“And I said, ‘I just want it to be funny, and I don’t want it to be judgmental. As long as those two things are true, I’m really excited.’ And they’re like, ‘We feel the same way.’ I was pretty stoked; I thought it was really funny,” says The Mick actress.

Ms. Black-D’Elia adds that The Mick showrunners treated the subject matter with respect and sensitivity through the writing process. She says it seemed as though they were trying to address the issues without making any assumptions, using the opinions of Ms. Olson and herself to gauge whether the humor was indeed funny, or just crude and offending.

Sofia goes on to explain that she wasn’t interested in making social commentary on the issue of breast implants, Personally, The Mick star feels it should be an individual choice and age shouldn’t factor into it. Black-D’Elia says every girl has her own opinions and her own thoughts, so, if she feels the need for implants, others shouldn’t be able to take that decision from her.

As for The Mick, Sofia wanted it to just be a fun episode.

“I thought it really should be about the comedy of it between Sabrina and Mickey and less of a comment.”

The next episode of The Mick airs on Tuesday, May 2 on Fox.

[Featured Image by Fox]