Writers Guild of America Hot Over FCC’s Stephen Colbert 'Investigation'

A Federal Communications Commission spokesperson confirmed that it is vetting the viewer complaints it received about Stephen Colbert's Late Show riff on President Donald Trump, which did not sit well with the creative community. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has said the FCC would look into any complaint it received and apply its rules to the facts presented and take "appropriate action." "Appropriate action" almost certainly means no action for a couple of reasons: 1) the comments—a bleeped oral sex reference, an unbleeped body part and some name calling—came in the FCC's 10 pm to 6 am safe harbor, where anything short of obscenity is not actionable, and 2) the bar for obscenity is very high. But even the talk about investigations has the creative community on edge, particularly with those already wary about the Trump Administration's threats to other kinds of media.

“As presidents of the Writers Guilds of America, East and West, we were appalled to read recent remarks by Federal Communications Commission chair Ajit Pai," said Writers Guild of America East president Michael Winship and Writers Guild of America West president Howard Rodman, in a joint statement. "He said the FCC would investigate a joke about Donald Trump by Writers Guild member Stephen Colbert, 'apply the law' and 'take appropriate action' if the joke were found to be 'obscene.'"