January 28, 2014
Did CBS Cut Away From Same-Sex Kissing During the Grammys?
Jason St. Amand READ TIME: 2 MIN.
CBS has come under fire for allegedly cutting away from a number of same-sex couples kissing while they were getting married during Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' epic performance of their marriage equality jam "Same Love" on the Grammy Awards on Sunday. But officials from the television network released a statement to BuzzFeed Tuesday, saying they did not decide to cut away from the couples locking lips.
"It was a groundbreaking and inclusive moment on television and for all who were in the room last night. It's hard to believe that this is BuzzFeed's takeaway from this event," Phil Gonzales, senior vice president of communications, said in a statement to BuzzFeed. "When asked separately if a decision was made in the control room at the show to not include the kisses - or if any such decision was made - Gonzales simply said, "No there wasn't."
Several Grammy viewers took to social media during Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' performance of their hit "Same Love," which featured Madonna and Queen Latifah officiating more than 30 couples (both gay and straight), to question why CBS didn't air same-sex couples kissing. BuzzFeed aggregated a few of those tweets:
"Great performance by @macklemore! Touching ceremony by @IAMQUEENLATIFAH. But, no shots of the couples kissing?#Grammys #CBS #interesting," one user wrote.
"Don't get me wrong, the whole gay marriage things on the Grammys was great and all, but no kissing?" another Twitter user said.
"Seriously 33 couples got married during the Grammys and no one was shown kissing. C'mon," another pointed out.
The performance, along with the entire Grammy Awards show, came under fire, mostly by conservatives.
"I've never seen such a display of intolerance, bigotry and hatred. #Grammys #antichristian," Fox News' Todd Starnes wrote on Twitter during the show.
"CBS: Shame on you, the Grammy's is supposed to be a family friendly show. It was disgusting, and sick to have gay marriages," one Twitter user wrote.
You can read more of the "Same Love" backlash here.
