Boing Boing editor/partner and tech culture journalist Xeni Jardin hosts and produces Boing Boing's in-flight TV channel on Virgin America airlines (#10 on the dial), and writes about living with breast cancer. Diagnosed in 2011. @xeni on Twitter. email: xeni@boingboing.net.

  • http://nefariousnewt.blogspot.com NefariousNewt

    That was effing awesome.

    • Boundegar

      Well I for one am horrified.  If I wasn’t, then who would care for the Hypothetical Children of Midnight?

      Also, does anybody actually watch network TV any more?

      • Sigmund_Jung

        Yes. It is very happy important to protect our children from bullshits, not from assault weapons.
        (My apologies for hijacking the subject)

      • ImmutableMichael

        Prog rock band name sorted! Thanks.

  • http://twitter.com/Beryllium9 Beryllium9

    He says he only said “FUH”. I haven’t seen it yet, so I dunno :)

    https://twitter.com/SamuelLJackson/status/280186515873738752

    • http://profiles.google.com/briandonaldblank Brian Blank

      I was watching it and it did sound like he said “fuh”. Was it planned or did he just catch himself? Not sure. But he definitely said “bullshit” loud and clear.

  • chrisv

    He also said “this is some bullshit” right afterwards.  And that was awesome too.

  • Antinous / Moderator

    I can’t believe that you can’t say ‘fuck’ at 11:30 at night.  What the fuck is up with that?  Shouldn’t children be in bed?  And isn’t fucking the proximate cause of children, anyway?

    • http://twitter.com/Beryllium9 Beryllium9

      I’m Canadian – I find the uproar hilarious whenever this sort of thing happens … :)

      • Just_Ok

        fucking eh

      • http://memoid.tumblr.com/ memoid

          I suppose everybody who’s not American does.

    • Gulliver

      Especially after the wing-nuts gets rubbers outlawed.

    • bzishi

      The morality police never sleep.

      • http://twitter.com/viasyn Scheduling

        Yet surprisingly they don’t have all that much actual sex…

      • invictus

        Honestly now, is there anything in life for which there *isn’t* an appropriate Jethro Tull song reference?

    • robuluz

      It’s un-fucking-believable. You know, we had the Daily Show uncensored in Australia for a while on the government free to air network, ABC2. Then something happened with licensing, and a cable network got sole rights again, and it was back to being beeped.

      It was amazing how much difference it makes. The whole rhythm of the show is different and fluid. The beeps are like a mosquito.

      • walleye

        South Park is prime time. A tourettes favourite. 

    • aliktren

      wait…. what ? – he said this at 11:30 at night and this isnt ok ??? – really ?!? – wow, think British TV got over itself about this sometime in the 80′s… ahh the Tube, you are sadly missed… does Homeland get cut for US audiences then ?? – people swear all the time.

      • Rindan

        If the first amendment ever gets trashed for good, you can rest assured that the FCC will w00t and cheer.  Fucking assholes.

        The way the current fucked up laws works such that cable can do whatever they want, but broadcast has to adhere to a bunch of puritanical rules under the excuse that is broadcast through the air.  To some asshole judge somewhere, this makes all the difference.

        That isn’t even the whole story.  Technically, cable can do whatever the want.  In practice, they don’t.  You will see no nipples or almost no f’bombs on cable.  There is then another tier of paid for content that comes in on top of cable.  HBO and Showntime and the like are in this third magical category.  For them anything goes.  Nipples and F’bombs for everyone.

        There is a reason why I don’t own cable.  I’m an adult.  Apparently, the only way to watch adult programming is to buy it off of the ‘tubes.

        Fuck the FCC.  Seriously, fuck those guys.

        • Navin_Johnson

           Well you know, neoliberals and Republicans hate “big government” :
          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadcast_Decency_Enforcement_Act_of_2005

          • Rindan

            Please don’t remind me.  I could almost stomach the Republicans, even when I violently disagree with them fiscal policy, if they actually followed through with small government.  Small government* just doesn’t do it for me.

            *void when talking about the military, spy agencies, morality laws, religions, alcohol, anything that involves joy, sex, and liberty in general.

      • hassan-i-sabbah

        I’m pretty sure the word “fuck” is in the opening credits.

    • http://twitter.com/Steven_Patz Steve

       No.  kids are awake 24 hours a day.

      • Gilbert Wham

         Yeah, but they can fuck off if they think they’re watching TV in the middle of the night, the little shits. I’m not telling them again…

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Mobi-Mktg/100002118545853 Mobi Mktg

      It’s natural to expect Samuel L. Jackson to say that…it’s sort of his signature saying – like you would be surprised if you saw Michelle Bachmann, and she didn’t say something stupid – (though I would like to say (imo) if you want to talk waste of money, it would be that really lame skit – it’s never been funny, a total waste of airtime, and I’m honestly surprised they keep pulling it out – the writing room needs new talent.)

    • benher

      Hey, does the pope tweet in the woods?

  • yupgiboy

    I don’t think the FCC regulates networks after 11pm, so an f-bomb would be legally acceptable. NBC standards and practices, however, is another story.

    • Dave X

       Nope, that’s not quite how it works. You’re thinking of the “safe harbor” times of day– from 10pm until 6am. “Indecent” and “profane” stuff is allowed during this time, but not “obscene.” Of course, the FCC’s definitions of these terms are completely bizarre and unhelpful, so it really works out to mean that they get to do whatever they want.

      • Wreckrob8

        Does the FCC think naughty words are a safety, security or health risk and therefore part of its remit, or what?

        • Dave X

           As I understand it, these decisions come from an understanding of television as pervasive media (or invasive, I’ve seen both terms used.) Basically, it means that you can turn on a TV (and they apply this to radio as well) and have it unexpectedly saying “fuck” to you or your kids, or whatever… and although this is entirely the case with a channel like HBO, they don’t worry about it there because you can’t get HBO over the airwaves, you have to pay for it directly. I don’t agree with it, but that’s what the situation is.

          • chgoliz

            But there’s no requirement for television news programs to tell the truth about actual events?  I find Fox “News” to be the most pervasive media EVAR and they get to fucking make shit up.

  • zmbabwe

    It sounds to me like there’s a “k” sound at the end of the utterance.  Maybe he intended to say, “fuh” but it came out wrong, or maybe there was some other noise in the studio right as he said it?

  • BarBarSeven

    I’m so proud to live in a country where saying “Fuck!” in the middle of the night on a TV show for adults results in thousands of dollars in fines. No serious gun control laws worth talking about, though. But cursing? This, we nailed. USA! USA! USA!

    • Gulliver

      I’m afraid our nation isn’t particularly exceptional in regards to convoluted censorship laws. It’s actually kind of interesting how many varied ways different cultures have found to tell each other what they’re not allowed to say. It’s a veritable smorgasbord of STFU.

    • http://billmcgonigle.com bill_mcgonigle

       Freedom is the solution, not the problem.

  • Yellow Hornet

    Should’ve said “monkey-fighting” instead.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4t6zNZ-b0A

    • euansmith

      Alex Cox was asked to do a TV version of Repo Man to be shown on BBC, he settled on “Melon Farmer” and actually preferred the dubbed version to the original. On the same season of films, the BBC got David Lynch to edit Blue Velvet for violence and language, and ended up with a longer version of the film; extra language, extra violence.

    • IronEdithKidd

      One of our local morning radio shows had an absolute field day with this.  Probably because it’s on a Canadian radio station and Usian prudery is some funny fucking shit.

  • cstatman

    shut the front door!   :P 

    • http://www.kmoser.com kmoser

      Back the truck up!

      Oh, and one more that is best seen in context: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2dlt67OSXs

      • jimh

        There were two solid laughs there, which is pretty good for a lawn care commercial.

  • carlos jugo

    Americans are strange

    • mccrum

      What?  Say “strange” one more time!

  • dhani

    He only said Fuh. He did say bullsh*&

  • dhani

    He said Fuh. And bullshit

  • http://twitter.com/kendradoherty Kendra Doherty

    I heard “fuh”. In any case, I can’t picture anybody who would be offended by the word “fuck” even watching SNL in the first place, sooo who the fuck cares?

  • doniphon

    This is what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps.

    • http://daruiburns.tumblr.com/ Dlo Burns

      Best over dub ever.

  • euansmith

    I wonder if Misfits gets shown in the USA. The characters in that are very sweary. If you’ve not seen Misfits, imagine Alphas with more profanity, violence, sex and dead probation workers.

    • elusis

       Only on Hulu, not on any TV or cable networks.

  • peterskater

    Am i alone in not being able to hear the f-bomb on the embedded clip that Xeni posted?

    Anyway, more details about other incidents of saying fuck on SNL here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072562/trivia

    • NateXT

       Nope, i can’t hear it either. But his accent is pretty heavy.

      Any folk care to tell us at what point on the video he says fuck?

      • otterhead

        Partial transcript from what I hear:
        Keenan: I want to thank my guest, the incredible Samuel L. Jackson!
        Sam Jackson: Man, fuh!
        Keenan: Hey! I don’t… so… c’mon, Sam!
        Sam: This is some bullshit!
        Keenan: C’mon, now! That costs money.

        • Cowicide

          correction:

          Sam Jackson: Man, fuh fuck!

          • otterhead

            Yeah, personally it sounds like “fuck” to me, but I’m giving Sam Jackson the benefit of the doubt :)

          • Antinous / Moderator

            I’m kind of surprised that there’s no fuckyeahsamueljackson tumblr. There’s a fuckyeah tumblr for pretty much everything else.

          • Gilbert Wham

             There probably is, now. You’re not helping, dammit.

  • ffabian

    This is news in the US? Stop the press – someone said fuck on the telly! I knew USian in general are puritan/prude but thats just ridiculous. 

  • http://www.facebook.com/czogby2 Charles Zogby

    I’m just waiting for his new audiobook narration, “Go the FUH to sleep”.

  • Terry Fairbrother

    When ever a US / Canadian / etc personality come to the UK they are always amazed that they are allowed to swear on the TV, light cursing is ok up until 9pm, with stronger late in the evening.

    So for me its the halarity of the situation rather than the swearing itself

    • euansmith

      It is still rather situational; Reginald D Hunter might be allowed to get way with the “N-word”, while the “C-word” is generally bleeped, event though it is obvious from context. We even got mild swearing on Strictly Come Dancing, though it was unscripted and they did apologise afterwards. My favourite was the responses to David Cameron’s first Tweet as Prime Minister: http://storify.com/nmemagazine/david-cameron-s-first-tweet-a-nation-responds

    • http://burntheflag.ca Jardine

      The rules in Canada seem to be similar to the UK actually. Shit and bullshit for example seem to be perfectly fine to say during the day. And 9pm seems to be when fuck becomes ok. The problem is that a lot of shows produced in Canada are intended to be shown in the US as well so they have to stick to the US rules.

      • Rindan

        Wait, Canadians have more shows than just Trailer Park Boys?

      • Navin_Johnson

        What shows?  The only Canadian show that I can think of that I’ve seen on regular broadcast tv was “The Newsroom” which they showed on PBS for a while. Great show btw.

        • http://vincenzoravina.tumblr.com/ Vincenzo Ravina

            Website I run on Canadian media: http://polargrizz.com

  • Drabula

    Yeah, as a Yank living in the UK for 5+ years I can only roll my eyes at this nonsense. It’s SO refreshing here to be able to watch uncut films on the telly. I’ve lost track of how many movies I’ve seen here and either forgot or never knew there was cursing and nudity in them! How come the conservatives get to crow about an imaginary war on Christmas but no one hollers about the very real Christian war on culture and art in general? Don’t adults in America get tired of being treated like children watched over by a purse-faced Sunday school teacher?

    • Cowicide

      Don’t adults in America get tired of being treated like children

      Hey! American kids can still go out and get their legs blown off in oil-strategic countries for rich people any time they want!

      • Nick Hayday

        or, you know, stay in schools and….

    • IronEdithKidd

      You’ve lived outside the US long enough to have forgotten that nearly every statement that comes out of the right-wing is chock-full of projections.

  • http://imcravingpresidency.tumblr.com/ SedanChair

    Oh, Sam Jackson. I liked you before your job became saying fuck.

  • Mitch_M

    When I was 6 years old I figured out that people on TV didn’t talk like real people and didn’t say the same words we said on the playground when adults weren’t around.

    Can you say the Arabic word “fak”, which is the imperative of “to think”, on television? Can you pronounce the name of the French town “Pussy”?

  • http://2012diaries.blogspot.com/ tristan eldritch

    The expression F-BOMB fucking cracks me up. Like its such an explosive, incendiary, seismic, dive for cover event when somebody throws all caution and social propriety to the wind and drops that f-bomb.

    • Mitch_M

      My friend calls it “the fuck word”. That’s the best word for it.

  • CaptainPedge

    In other news, Keenan from Keenan and Kel is now a spitting image of Lenny Henry

  • otterhead

    Yes, Sam, it’s pretty easy to believe that Keenan blew his line.

  • http://twitter.com/kpkpkp Kevin Pierce

    There was plenty of profanity, not limited to Mr. Jackson’s words, during “12-12-12″ The Concert for Sandy Relief, which I watched over the air via Thirteen, NYC.   I was so traumatized I made a donation!

    Some channels showing the concert apparently felt the need to censor:
    http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-121212-concert-sandy-relief-springsteen-rolling-stones-mccartney-20121212,0,608947.story

  • ahecht

    I’m more offended that SNL still thinks people like “What’s Up with That” sketches. It was barely funny the first time, and given that it only has one joke, it has no business being done 9 different times.

    • Navin_Johnson

       Looks like it’s a good way for them to have surprise guests do cameos so it’ll probably be around for a while..

    • Brianne Archer

      To each his own. I could watch Jason Sudekis do the running man all 90 minutes every single week. 

  • Purplecat

     I think it’s time to review the best way to respond to ridiculous censorship over naughty words:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jixxYx9fklM

  • cellocgw

    Dropping in to point out that a very successful  TV series substituted the nonword (in our time and galaxy, anyway) “frak,” and they frakking got completely away with saying ‘frak’ whenever the ‘frak’ they wanted to.  Everyone knew what it meant and the FCC ignored the whole thing. Reminds me of the infamous Lenny Bruce thing about “can’t say cocksucker, so I’m going to say blah my blah, you blahblah-er”

    • http://twitter.com/Nanjenchan Chantal Wagner K.

      So say we all!

    • http://profiles.google.com/marc.k.mielke Marc Mielke

      …and after the show ended, ‘fracking’ actually became a thing, and ‘fracking the earth’ makes sense in both contexts.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/I3IVPQTWUFSQVREK5UB55BIWUM James

    OOOO OOO EEEE What’s up with that? I say what’s up with that?

  • waetherman

    What’s strange is that they didn’t cut it out. I know it’s live, so you’re saying “how could they cut it out?” Well I actually interviewed for the job of SNL censor a number of years ago, and that job basically involved reviewing scripts making sure there wasn’t anything too bad in them, but it also involved being “on the button” every Saturday night during the live performance which it turns out is actually delayed by 30 seconds or something, giving the censor a chance to cut audio for that portion of the show. At least that’s how I understood the job. Either I’m misremembering or the guy on the button fuh’d up, and now he’s in deep shit.

  • drawboy

    It’s outrageous! My children were asleep at the time, but fortunately I DVR’d it and was able to play the clip for them several times this morning. They were very upset each and every time I hit repeat.

  • Cowicide

    It’s basically 2013 and we’re still watching videos of television screens and still have people having conniptions over curse words…. sigh…

  • 10xor01

    I wonder whether this was really impromptu, or a PR stunt like Janet Jackson’s nip-slip.  I hate to imagine a room full of TV execs doing a cost-benefit analysis of Mr. Jackson dropping an F-bomb, but I wouldn’t be entirely surprised.

    • Greg Murphy

      I thought this was obvious. These little “slip-ups” are practically written into the scripts nowadays. It’s how Jimmy Fallon got famous. Low quality television programming.

  • xzzy

    It is funny to me that BB obfuscated ‘fuck’ in the headline, but has no issues posting nudity on their front page. 

    Is that to prevent problems with the RSS feed or something?

    edit – I just noticed the Onion story further down the page uses ‘fuck’ in the headline. So I don’t know what the heck is going on!

    • toyg

      BB is a blog, not a newspaper — the Boingers don’t actually follow any strict rule about what they post or how, different posters have different standards and so on.

  • shecki

    Just like Rick Santorum said “Blah people.” Mmmhmmm. I notice Sam’s lips quiver just after he utters “Fuh,” as if he was catching himself. Always one of my all-time favorite actors. He probably just punched up their ratings.

  • Navin_Johnson

    They said “Dick” on SNL last week. I honestly didn’t know they could do that either. “Bitch” has crept into use in recent years too. I guess it’s just a matter of time before “fuck” gets its pass..

  • krake

    Well, as The Onion put it, “Fuck everything”…

  • Mark Kernes

     You’re right: The FCC provides a “safe harbor” for exactly that type of language, which runs from 11 pm to (I think) 6 am. This is a big deal over nothing.

  • snipehunt

    The real crime is that Carrie Brownstein didn’t get to say ANYTHING (wondering if she was paid for the appearance)

  • http://twitter.com/chriscoreline chris coreline

    “Below, Jackson’s tweet immediately following the incident. Do you believe him?”

    I Think at this stage ill believe anything Samuel L Jackson says to me.

  • http://www.nathanhornby.com/ Nathan Hornby

    US’ians don’t support hate speech laws, because freedom, and yet saying a swear word on Television AT NIGHT is a big deal.

    http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/maxwell_smart__confused.gif

    Makes sense.

  • http://brykmantra.com checkersspeech

    I had close-captioning on, it said “mother farter” LOL … 

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/TR3VNMZRCHH6MIBNDDB2OQXDL4 James

    Samuels Jackson’s epitaph “RIFMP”