Explicit song mocking gay sex draws fire for reality TV show

Gay rights activists are up in arms over the lyrics to an original song performed Friday evening on the reality-television song competition show “The Next Star for Eurovision 2016.”

Some 200 complaints about the song were sent over the weekend to the Keshet production company, which holds a tender to produce content, including “The Next Star,” from Channel 2, the Haaretz daily reported.

The Second Authority for Television and Radio, the public regulator of Channel 2, is reportedly examining whether the song’s lyrics constitute a violation of Keshet’s tender obligations.

The song, written and performed by contestant Maor Gamliel, was titled “Leaving the Closet,” and contained lyrics that mocked gay male sex: “Moshiko [a diminutive Hebrew form of the name Moshe], is interested in boys, Moshiko, craves butts, Moshiko, always in the showers, ignoring the girls, dropping his underwear, dropping the soap, should be in the theater, come on already, leave the closet, Moshiko.”

The song was intended as a joke, said show officials. The judges and audience laughed during the performance, and Asi Azar, the openly gay host of the show urged critics to take it with good humor.

But the National LGBT Task Force, a nonprofit that advocates for gay rights, was not amused, calling on supporters over the weekend to flood Keshet with complaints.

The show aired on Friday evening, at a time with relatively strong viewing numbers, regulators noted, and so may have been inappropriate for children who were watching.

Officials said the sexually explicit lyrics constituted “statements that reinforce stigmas and prejudices, and at the same time place parents of children watching the show in an uncomfortable situation.”

“At first glance, I believe the song is hurtful, insulting and shaming,” David Regev, the public complaints ombudsman of the Second Authority, told Haaretz. “In the balance between free expression, which allows for such a song, and the harm caused to the audience of viewers, I believe the harm was much greater, and this should have been taken into account before the broadcast.”