Roseanne Kiss
- Artist/Author/Producer: Roseanne Barr (Arnold) and Co.
- Confronting Bodies: ABC Television
- Dates of action: March 1994
- Location: USA
- Description of the Art Work
- A scene in an episode of Roseanne in which she visits a lesbian bar and
receives a kiss on the lips from actress Mariel Hemingway.
- Description of incident
- ABC threatened not to broadcast the episode as scheduled on March 1, 1994 claiming that
"the scene is not the lifestyle that most people lead," (Stephen
Weisswasser, ABC legal representative). According to Roseanne's husband
and manager Tom Arnold, ABC also said the episode "violates the network's
standards."
- Results of incident
- Roseanne and Co. threatened to air the episode on another network, as she
has hinted at moving the show to CBS. ABC aired the episode as originally
planned, but included a viewer advisory before the episode . Ratings were
high (averaging 28 - 33 million viewers) and complaints received by the
network were fewer than expected (150 calls by noon the day following the
airing). Positive calls outnumbered complaints by a 3-to-1 margin.
Source: Nightlines, Windy City Times, Chicago Sun-Times Feb.-March, 1994