Beenieman yanked from NZ show following gay pressure

with Yasmin
Jamaica Observer
Monday, November 16, 2009

Following headlines over the weekend that gay lobby groups in New Zealand were presuring the promoters of music festival, Big Day Out, to pull Beenie Man from the line-up, and subsequent defence of their decision to use him as the only reggae act, the promoters have now backpedalled and have yanked the deejay from the concert.


Beenie Man... yanked from line-up for music festival Big Day Out
Internet reports say that New Zealand MP Kevin Hague was among those objecting to the inclusion of the King of the Dancehall based on his anti-gay lyrics. Hague noted that hate-mongering is not welcome in New Zealand, and reportedly urged the Big Day Out to uninvite Beenie.

"Music is a powerful shaper of culture, values, attitudes and behaviour," said Hague. "Music that denigrates gay men and lesbians in the most extreme way imaginable sends some very powerful signals both to young gay and lesbian people but also to their peers. It is not true that 'sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me'.

"Hate speech like that of Beenie Man gives permission to prejudice and discrimination and creates it where it didn't previously exist. It blights and diminishes the lives of all who are exposed to it, most particularly young lesbian and gay people who suffer violence, harassment, lowered self-esteem and all the consequent health and social problems."

Gay reaction stemmed from a song recorded by the deejay in which he says, "I'm dreaming of a new Jamaica, come to execute all the gays."

The promoters had said in a previous release that they were aware of Beenie Man's controversial past, but he had renounced those feelings and was now promoting "peaceful and humanistic values".

However, a release posted yesterday said, "The depth of feeling and hurt amongst these groups has convinced us that for us to proceed with his Big Day Out appearances was, and would continue to be, divisive among our audience members and would mar the enjoyment of the event for many."

Beenie Man, as is the norm, could not be reached for comment.

The sad part about this is that it's not just Beenie who has lost out, it's the music. This is a lost opportunity to promote reggae/dancehall in a major way and would no doubt have been a big boost - financially and otherwise - for Beenie Man himself. The fact is that there must have been big demand for this artiste for the promoters to have included him in a line-up with names such as Lily Allen, Muse, Eskimo Joe, The Mars Volta, Calvin Harris, Lisa Mitchell, the Horrors, and others. Between January 15 and 31, the Big Day Out will be held in Perth, Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne and the Gold Coast, and according to the concert's website, many of the venues are already sold out.