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Simulated Rape?

That’s what Fox News and TMZ are calling the incident involving Senegalese-American R&B singer Akon, and because of the furor created by this type of sensational journalism masquerading as the morality police, Akon has been cancelled by his sponsor, Verizon Wireless.

The same incident was described by The New York Times as simulated sex. You can watch the video on YouTube and judge for yourself.
I don’t know the first thing about Akon, he may be repulsive, but it is the principle involved in this episode that caught my attention.

In case you are not aware of the details of this event, it happened in Trinidad.

Yeah, Trinidad. Not in the puritanical climate of the US, but in Trinidad.

The story goes that Akon was performing in a nightclub, and at some point a girl got up on stage and they, fully clothed, performed what could be described as simulated sex.

I believe that part of the furor from the morality police was because it turned out that this girl was under-age. I saw the video, and that girl didn’t look underage. Akon has apparently tried to lay some blame on the club for letting the girl in, but I don’t know all the details.

What is crazy is that this is a non-event except that it was recorded and made its way onto the Internet.

So what we have is an event that happened in Trinidad, an Island that I’m pretty sure 50% of Americans couldn’t find on a map, that becomes known simply because it is circulating on the internet, and the morality police here in this country decide they need to put the pressure on his sponsor to drop him. I guess that is the equivalent of getting fired if you are an R&B singer.

This bothers me because in the name of morality, artists are going to need to watch themselves more and more, and censor their behavior before they are censored by the all watching eyes of the morality police. No more dangerous clothing at the Super bowl half-time show, for fear of wardrobe malfunctions. Watch what you say on the radio, someone might have recorded it and be waiting to play it back for the morality police.

For me it is freedom of expression that is vital to art and music, the things that I need to thrive.

And as for the label of “simulated rape,” I have seen simulated rape on TV and in the movies.

Have you ever seen “Straw Dogs,” which was directed by Sam Peckinpah? The film has a “simulated rape” scene which I personally found disturbing, but I liked the film. I probably just won’t watch the film again, but I won’t stop others from watching it. And I am sure that many people don’t take offense to this scene.

My point is this, if you find something offensive, don’t watch, but don’t try to be the judge of whether others should watch it.

And by the way, Akon has apologized. Not to Fox News, but to the girl, and to his public.






NYTimes- Simulated sex
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/10/arts/music/10akon.html
TMZ-simulated rape
http://www.tmz.com/2007/05/04/akon-axed-by-verizon-over-alleged-fake-rape/
Fox news: Simulated rape
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,270130,00.html