Fat Bitches Need Airtime Too!

Lane Bryant Says ABC, Fox Censored Plus-Size Lingerie Commercial
by Erin Donnelly/AOL

Babes in bras seem to be all over the boob tube -- unless those babes happen to be a little big.

Lane Bryant is accusing Fox and ABC of a "double standard" over restrictions for their new lingerie commercial starring a curvy cutie in her bras and panties.

The plus-size retailer has charged that the networks had refused to air the sexy ad without substantial edits.

"ABC and Fox have made the decision to define beauty for you by denying our new, groundbreaking Cacique commercial from airing freely on their networks," Lane Bryant says.

According to the company, ABC "restricted our airtime" by denying it a slot during "Dancing with the Stars," while Fox "demanded excessive re-edits and rebuffed it three times before relenting to air it during the final 10 minutes of 'American Idol,' but only after we threatened to pull the ad buy."

But ABC says Lane Bryant is full of hot air, and their claims are no more than a publicity stunt. The broadcasting company issued a statement today saying they did not treat Lane Bryant any differently than other advertisers.

"Their statements are not true," it said. "The ad was accepted. Lane Bryant was treated absolutely no differently than any advertiser for the same product. We were willing to accommodate them, but they chose to seek publicity instead."

In response, Lane Bryant says, "ABC's statement that 'Lane Bryant was treated absolutely no differently than any advertiser for the same product' is simply not true."

"There was absolutely no rationale for us to be relegated to the back of the bus, when our ads were no more risqué than those of Victoria's Secret. The only difference is the size of our models. We would have expected better from a company owned by Disney."

Lane Bryant also released a memo, which they say is from ABC, dated April 9. It states, "UPON APPROVAL, THIS COMMERCIAL IS RESTRICTED FROM THE FOLLOWING PROGRAMMING/TIME PERIODS (ET): Post 9 PM: Extreme Makeover, Home Edition and Wipeout, Animated Wonderful World of Disney, Wonderful World of Disney, Dancing With the Stars, America's Funniest Videos, Game Shows."

Drama! So what allegedly got the networks -- which frequently run lingerie ads from the likes of Victoria's Secret -- so hot and bothered?

Lane Bryant claims that a heavy helping of cleavage revealed by lingerie-clad plus-size model Ashley Graham in the ad rubbed execs the wrong way (oh, get your mind out of the gutter).

According to their blog, the Inside Curve, "The networks exclaimed, 'She has...cleavage!' Gasp!"

I think we all know why these commercials were pulled off the air and its got nothing to do with cleavage. I'm sure some of Victoria's Secret's bustier models are sporting some cleavage. It's because noone wants to see a bunch of fat brauds prance around in their underwear. It is a bit suprising the list of shows the commercial was banned from though. These shows seem to have a high volume of female watchers so it might go over better there. We certainly wouldn't watch these ads running during Monday Night Football or anything though. I guess I just can't get up in arms about this assult on Fat America. Last time I checked Jockey and Calvin Klein aren't paying me and Artie Lange to pillow fight in a pair of briefs.