Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's 'WAP' Performance Earns Grammys Sea of FCC Complaints

Although millions of people watched the 63rd annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, the FCC reportedly [...]

By Daniel S. Levine

Although millions of people watched the 63rd annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, the FCC reportedly received only about 80 complaints about Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's performance of "WAP." The song's lyrics were amended to make them appropriate for broadcast television, but the two rappers still pushed boundaries with their choreography, which many of the critics who contacted the FCC complained about. Notably, the number of complaints was much smaller than the number the FCC received for Shakira and Jennifer Lopez's performance at the 2020 Super Bowl.

One viewer from Colorado complained that Megan and Cardi were dancing like they were "in a strip club," reports WFAA, which filed an open records request with the FCC. "The outfits they were wearing and the movements they did were absolutely disgusting," one Idaho viewer wrote. "This network should face very stiff penalties." Another viewer from Texas said the Best New Artist Grammy winner was "barely dressed in a thong and showed naked look alike legs."

"The Grammys need to require the artist not to be performing any types of sexual acts and require clothes to stay on and not stripping down to bra and panties," one viewer from Connecticut complained. Of course, Cardi and Megan were not actually performing sex acts and never completely stripped down. One common theme among the complaints was "cancel culture," with many wondering why that performance was allowed while Pepe Le Pew is considered offensive.

Cardi has already responded to conservative critics. One conservative commentator claimed that the lyrics to "WAP" are "more welcome in some schools" than Dr. Seuss books. "When has a school made kids read the lyrics to 'WAP'?" Cardi asked. "I get it ]WP] might be a lil vulgar but stop comparing a sensual song to books that has RACIST content! How can ya not tell the difference?I see that common sense ain't that common." She later called out conservatives for comparing the two very different situations, adding, "Well I can DEFINITELY tell some of ya ONLY read dr Seuss books Face with rolling eyes cause ya mind lacks comprehension."

The number of complaints the FCC received about "WAP" pales in comparison to the number of complaints from Lopez and Shakira's Super Bowl LIV performance. That attracted over 1,300 FCC complaints. Then again, the Super Bowl did have a much bigger audience than the Grammys. The Grammys telecast drew just 9.2 million viewers, a 51% drop from the previous year, Nielsen said Tuesday.

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