NBC Cuts Pamela Anderson Pole Dance Video
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Pamela Anderson and pole dancing proved too hot for NBC, which dropped a number featuring the actress in a sexy big-screen video from an Elton John special.
"Elton John: The Red Piano," a Las Vegas extravaganza taped at Caesars Palace, aired Monday night without the segment in which John sang "The Bitch is Back" while an oversized screen behind him displayed a scantily clad Anderson.
The actress moved suggestively around a dance pole in the number, which was included in preview copies sent out to critics.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}After an assessment by its standards and practices department the network decided the material didn't mesh with the time slot.
"We believed the content was not appropriate for 8 p.m.-7 central time and decided to pull the song from the special," NBC said in a statement Tuesday.
A call seeking comment from Anderson, who stars in the FOX sitcom "Stacked," was not immediately returned Tuesday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Left intact were Elton John classics including "Daniel" and "Rocket Man," as well as another big-screen video that featured Justin Timberlake as a young Elton.
Pop star Timberlake is no stranger to TV controversy: He was part of Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, in which her breast was briefly exposed when Timberlake yanked on her costume.