(RNS) The Jewish doctor from Miami who was scolded by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons for producing a music video that mocked Jewish noses has canceled a contest for another music video based on the same theme.
Dr. Michael Salzhauer, a Jewish plastic surgeon known in Miami as “Dr. Shnoz,” faced an ethics investigation after sponsoring a video contest that poked fun at Jewish noses.
Dr. Michael Salzhauer said he is trying to come up with an alternative contest that would not offend the plastic surgery society or incur possible ethics violations.
“I do understand the ASPS’s point of view, though my intention was not to hurt anyone’s feelings, but to have a little fun,” said Salzhauer, a plastic surgeon who's known around Miami as “Dr. Schnoz.”
The first music video, paid for by Salzhauer and entitled “Jewcan Sam: A Nose Job Love Song,” created a stir for its implication that the love-struck, yarmulke-wearing male lead needed to shorten his nose to find a girlfriend.
Written and performed by L.E. Doug Staiman and his band, The Groggers, the video shows its star both before and after his actual nose job performed by Salzhauer. Both Staiman and Salzhauer are Orthodox Jews, and both said the video was meant as a tongue-in-cheek parody.
But the ASPS called the video “inappropriate” in a March 13 statement, and launched an ethics investigation into Salzhauer. The Florida regional director of the Anti-Defamation League said the video trafficked in malicious, age-old stereotypes.
On various Jewish websites, the responses to the video have ranged from bemusement to anger. Generally, traditional Jews eschew cosmetic surgery as a rejection of God’s handiwork.
The canceled video contest, promoted by Salzhauer, invited entries for another video with the same title as the first. The winner would get an all-expenses-paid trip to Miami.
Salzhauer said he won’t abide by requests to remove The Groggers' video from YouTube, where it has garnered more than 130,000 hits. He's also still offering plastic surgery “scholarships” to single Orthodox Jews looking for a spouse. They'll need the support of their traditional matchmakers, and parental approval if they're under 18.
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