Fox’s planned special, The Girl Next Door: The Search for a Playboy Centerfold, has drawn the wrath of several conservative groups.
The Christian Coalition, Concerned Women for America (CWA) and Focus on the Family are just three of the seven right-wing groups that sent a letter of protest to News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch over the May 10 two-hour special. (News Corp. owns Fox.)
The sweeps special, specifically designed to draw as many viewers as possible, follows 12 women flown to a Los Angeles estate and given the opportunity to pursue their dream to be a Playboy centerfold. The women will be shown frolicking by the pool and partying out on the town.
The show concludes with Playboy founder Hugh Hefner picking one lucky lady for a centerfold shoot.
The groups’ complaint is that the show is nothing more than “men victimizing women for the sake of money and ratings,” in the words of CWA Chief Counsel Jan LaRue.
“We respect all of our viewers’ rights to their opinions. If this is a show they don’t like or feel is appropriate, please don’t watch,” Fox countered through spokesman Scott Grogin.
