Dire Straits Song No Longer Censored in Canada

A full 27 years after the song came out, Canada has decided that Dire Straits' hit "Money for Nothing" is now appropriate for radio airplay, according to the Associated Press.

The British band's song includes what many critics called homophobic lyrics -- along with racist and sexist ones -- so after a complaint in January of this year, the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council said it was unacceptable for uncensored airplay.

The council concluded, "Like other racially driven words in the English language, 'faggot' is one that, even if entirely or marginally acceptable in earlier days, is no longer so."

After a public backlash to that ruling, the council has changed its mind, saying Wednesday that while the homophobic slur in the song is inappropriate, it must be taken in context. The majority of the council's panel felt the song "used the word satirically and not in a hateful manner."

Dire Straits keyboard player Guy Fletcher recently wrote on his website that "Money for Nothing," which was written by Straits guitarist Mark Knopfler and Sting, does "not celebrate a slur. In it, Mark uses real everyday U.S. street language to describe how a numbskull worker in a hardware department in a television/custom kitchen/refrigerator/microwave appliance store, feels about a video being shown in the store."

The lyrics in question? "The little faggot with the earring and the makeup/ Yeah buddy, that's his own hair/ That little faggot got his own jet airplane/ That little faggot he's a millionaire."

Today, some LGBT music fans are debating whether it's a good sign that Canada reversed its decision or is this an indication that the f word is still the last acceptable hate speech.