Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

More than half of callers back BBC over 'blasphemous' Springer opera

James Burleigh
Monday 10 January 2005 01:00 GMT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

More than half of the 300 phone calls received by the BBC after Saturday night's screening of Jerry Springer - The Opera were in support of the comic musical.

The broadcast went ahead despite a campaign to halt it by some Christians, who accused the show of being blasphemous.

One organisation said that it was to pursue a private prosecution against the corporation. "If this is not blasphemy, nothing is," said Stephen Green, the national director of Christian Voice. "There will be nothing sacred if we cannot successfully prosecute the BBC."

Security guards protected senior BBC executives on the night of the screening after threats of "physical violence" and even "bloodshed" against staff and their children were made by protesters.

Critics of the programme said that the show featured more than 8,000 swear words and were angered by scenes that showed Jesus in a nappy admitting that he was "a bit gay". But the BBC insisted that fewer than 300 offensive words were in the opera, including 117 "f-words" and seven "c-words". The BBC recorded about 45,000 complaints prior to transmission after an organised telephone campaign.

The programme attracted 1.8 million viewers, a 10.8 per cent share of the audience.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in