MONTREAL — Although Radio-Canada continues to defend the 2008 edition of Bye-Bye, its creators Véronique Cloutier and Louis Morissette publicly apologized for their show, which has been widely criticized as vulgar and racist.

‘We are not racist, not at all,’ said Morissette at a press conference Friday where he appeared shaken and confused by the uproar caused by the show, an annual Quebec TV ritual. Flanked by his wife and business partner Cloutier, Morissette said Bye-Bye‘s racial stereotyping was meant to parody American racism. In one sketch, a talk-show host did a pretend interview with U.S. president-elect Barack Obama and made the comment that all blacks look alike. ‘But we don’t feel that way. Obama as the premier of Quebec, that could happen any time. I’m all for it,’ said the actor.

Cloutier, who is a popular TV host in Quebec and is also the daughter of former media mogul and convicted pedophile Guy Cloutier, also apologized for the sketch ridiculing child star Nathalie Simard, who her father has been convicted of raping as a child. Cloutier told reporters Friday that she didn’t have an axe to grind against Simard and that she was spoofed because she was in the news in 2008. (Bye-Bye traditionally spoofs the year’s top newsmakers.) While admitting the bit was an error, Cloutier said it was discussed repeatedly with SRC’s top brass.

‘This was the result of many discussions and many meetings,’ she insisted.

Both Radio-Canada and the CRTC received a flood of complaints after the Bye-Bye broadcast, which has many observers wondering if SRC is out of touch with viewers. On radio call-in shows and blogs, many French-speaking Quebecers expressed shame at the show’s low-brow content. In a recent Globe and Mail column, Lysiane Gagnon accused SRC of making trash TV in an effort to win the ratings game.

That SRC’s top managers allowed sketches replete with racial slurs is particularly surprising in view of the province’s recent and controversial ‘reasonable accommodations’ hearings, which caused a great deal of soul-searching in the province after many ordinary Quebecers publicly expressed their prejudice against racial and religious minorities.

Like most conventional broadcasters, the French-language network has been struggling to attract viewers. In 1988, SRC had a 27% share. Today, it hovers at around 15%. Its main competitor, the private network TVA, has an audience share of nearly 30% and most of the province’s top 30 shows.