Von Teese cleavage joins Perry’s on US blacklist

Burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese, famous the world over for her curvaceous figure, claims she was forced to cover up her "offensive cleavage" during a recent guest appearance on the detective series CSI.

Her assets join those of Katy Perry in the hall of television infamy.

In an upcoming episode of the show, A Kiss Before Frying, Von Teese plays a schoolteacher who is also a nightclub dancer called Rita Von Squeeze. She also takes on the role of the character's murdered French grandmother, Agnes La Plouffe, who is seen in flashback.

But Von Teese reveals that although she was pleased with her performance, bosses at the CBS network, perhaps unaware of her celebrated figure and her reputation, were less impressed.

She told TV Guide: "There was a lot of network talk about my 'offensive cleavage', which I found interesting considering how much blood and gore there is. We had to take it down a notch."

The concept of offensive cleavages on US television has cropped up before. Last year, a sketch starring pop star Katy Perry was dropped from an episode of Sesame Street after parents at a test screening deemed her cleavage too much for their little angels. ·