NEW YORK REPEALS 1926 CABARET LAW BANNING DANCING.

A French-language television comedy that depicted a man leering at a girl dancing around a pole violated Canada’s broadcast regulations, according to a recent ruling.

The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council, however, found scenes of marijuana use and an elderly man wearing lingerie and a strapon dildo in the same episode did not cross the line.

Les Beaux Malaises, which aired on the Quebec-based TVA network from 2014 until early this year, focused on comedian Martin Matte, who played a fictional version of himself.

The final episode of the series aired in January. In the last scene, all the characters who appeared on the show come together to dance to the Rolling Stones tune, Sympathy for the Devil.

The final scene hearkened back to previous episodes only loyal viewers would have understood, the council said in its decision: “For example, an old man wearing women’s lingerie and a strap-on dildo was shown dancing with Martin’s mother. Later, someone offered the couple a marijuana joint, which they took turns smoking.

“A woman in a red dress went up to Martin and said, ‘Julie is OK with us having a threesome!’ Martin responded ‘Oh yeah?’ and then Julie said, ‘A threesome for you.’ A transvestite entered the frame and announced, ‘I’m the third.’

“There was a girl of about nine or 10 years old, in a bathing suit dancing around a pole on a red rug. A fat man emerged from giant inflatable buttocks. He watched the girl appreciatively while eating a bag of potato chips.”

The council received a complaint that the show promoted “drug use, child prostitution and transgenderism.”

TVA responded by saying the scenes merely reflected the diversity of society and the show was intended to “create a sense of discomfort for viewers.” The network said the pole-dancing girl was covered in a bathing suit.

“The images do not constitute degrading material,” the network wrote.

In its decision, the council said “absolutely nothing” in its codes prohibit the portrayal of cross-dressers or transgender people.

“While some viewers might hold personal views that are not compatible with such portrayal, those views do not amount to a reason to require discrimination. Broadcasters should be commended for presenting society in all its diversity,” the council said.

The panel similarly took no issue with the images of drug use.

Where it did find fault was with the depiction of the girl.

“Given that pole-dancing is traditionally associated with strip clubs and the adult man was leering at the girl in a bathing suit while she ‘performed,’ the Panel considers that the sexual connotation of this scene was undeniable and clearly unacceptable,” the council said.

The network was ordered to publicly announce that it breached broadcast standards.