Thursday, December 9, 2010

Allegedly Ethical

Chelsea Handler, The View and a bevy of other television shows have recently landed on a disturbing habit: Using the term "allegedly" simply to cover their bases.

This is my point: When someone watches any of these shows and hears a celebrity is "allegedly" this or that, people will start to tune it out.  Allegedly is no longer used on television to make sure that nothing is proven, it is used to make sure they don't run into a lawsuit. 



Don't get me wrong, I love Chelsea Handler and all of those celebrity talk shows, but I recently ran into another clip from the View in which they are discussing the sexuality of church ministers and used the term allegedly as an afterthought.  After stating "And he is gay," Whoopie Goldberg later emphasized "allegedly," more or less defeating the purpose of the word.

So be ethical and make sure people know that "allegedly" needs to be used ethically.

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