Comedy Central’s Workaholics is often criticised for its depictions of lewd behaviour and drug use – presumably because the entire premise of the show is three lewd guys doing a shitload of drugs – but the new season of the show may have crossed a line, at least where the US Coast Guard is concerned.
The show returned for its fifth season last week, and while we have to admit we’re not quite caught up on it yet, the first episode featured a gag involving some Coast Guard recruiters, some butt play, and “a French bulldog named Officer Petty Tailwags.” Vulture report that this particular joke was the cause of the upset.
The chairman of the Coast Guard’s sexual assault prevention council responded with an angry open letter, chastising Comedy Central and its parent company Viacom, and saying that audiences deserve better:
While the episode’s storyline about military recruiters may have intended to present a humorous and self-deprecating look at service rivalries, the portrayal of military members lining up to take part in a pornographic film, participating in a vile hazing incident which included both an illegal criminal act of sexual assault and the involvement of a dog, was reprehensible. Sexual assault is a crime. It’s not humorous and it’s not funny. … Your target audience is made up of the same women and men who wear our Nation’s flag on their military uniforms and willingly give their lives to protect our First Amendment rights. And, while you have the right to air these episodes, you also undermine the good your network does by using its platform to educate and expose your audience to critical thinking.
Comedy Central and Workaholics have yet to respond.
