The Commission received a complaint about the lyrics of a song called “Roses” by the group Outkast. T
he Complainant argues that she finds the song offensive and that she and all her female friends are outraged thereby, particularly the lyrics to the effect that the woman in the song thinks that her “shit don’t stink”. She is also aggrieved that the song is “enforced upon listeners several times a day”.
The test that is applied is an objective standard of a reasonable listener who is broadminded. The BCCSA has quoted with approval the approach of the European Court of Human Rights in this regard: ‘the price to pay for freedom of speech means being receptive to ideas that are not only displeasing, but that could often shock or offend’. This was echoed by the Constitutional Court, which further stated that “freedom of expression is applicable not only to information or ideas that are favourably received or regarded as inoffensive or as a matter of indifference but also to those that offend, shock, or disturb. Such are the demands of pluralism, tolerance and broadmindedness without which there is no democratic society.” There is a likelihood that the words, within the context, do not refer to feces, in any case.
The Complaint was not upheld.