July 5, 2009

NEW YORK (AP) -- Little people are calling on the Federal Communications Commission to ban the use of the word "midget" on
broadcast TV.

The group Little People of America said Sunday the word is just as offensive as racial slurs.

The request was prompted by an April episode of NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice" that the group said was demeaning.

In the episode, contestants created a detergent ad called "Jesse James and the Midgets." The contestants, including Joan Rivers, suggested bathing little people in the detergent and hanging them to dry.

Calls to the FCC and "Celebrity Apprentice" host Donald Trump were not immediately answered Sunday. NBC Universal representatives
didn't immediately respond to e-mail messages, and the telephone
rang unanswered at their Los Angeles office.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)