www.trinidadandtobagonews.com/blog
Danah Alleyne before “action” with Akon
Trinicenter.com
Reporters
April 22, 2007
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a response to the many racist comments about the Akon/Danah video clip, especially those that were initially posted on YouTube, among other websites. The two clips that were initially posted on YouTube were removed together with hundreds of racist comments.
Much of the discussion surrounding the Hip-hop/R&B singer Akon’s performance at club Zen on Thursday 12th April, 2007, is really based on racism, unreasoned sexual hang-ups and hypocrisy. The reactions of many who have been buzzing on the radio and the internet are clearly based on their racist and colourist views that paint Akon as a black animal who assaulted a minor and the female as a young, misguided innocent, who was taken advantage of. This is really quite ridiculous. Harsh reactions have also been fuelled by the fact that many knew she was a preacher’s daughter and she was acting contrary to what her father preaches.
Akon and Danah on stage at Zen
Akon is a performer whose act is well known and has been widely publicized on the internet and other entertainment media. His song “Smack That” leaves little to the imagination as to its theme and as part of the performance for that song, he dances, appearing to simulate sex with willing female participants, who voluntarily come onstage to be a part of this act. Fans of his certainly could have been aware of the act as there were videos of similar performances easily available on the internet and on some television shows.
Several females took the stage at Zen that night to be a part of this ‘wining competition’ where it was stated that the winner would win a trip to Africa. Certainly, Zen played up the idea that Akon is from Senegal by having people in African attire doing African drumming at the entrance of the venue and by starting the show with a similar African theme. It is then not surprising that Akon would be tongue-in-cheek and set himself up as the embodiment of Africa and be the ‘prize’ for a young lady who won the competition. They were quite okay with receiving the attention from the crowd, the media and the artiste that would come with that. No one was forced. Furthermore, anyone who has been to a concert, party or event that features a ‘wining competition’ where girls are invited to wine either for the audience or with the male star, should be well aware of what awaits them – a hyper-sexual performance that glorifies the sexuality of the star and can end up being totally humiliating for the female. In light of this it is hard to really say the girl was totally unaware.
Akon and Danah on stage at Zen
The extent of the racism that has pervaded this discussion internationally cannot go unaddressed. The idea of Africans being sexually potent, virile and uncontrollable is one that is part of a whole set of racist assumptions that have been bandied about for centuries about Africans. Some Africans in the Diaspora have inherited these ideas about continental Africans to the point that there is now a distinction, where continental Africans are seen as more ‘undiluted’, more potent and animalistic. Many on internet forums have commented on this issue in very racist ways about African sexual proclivities as a way to condemn the way he danced with the female. The discussion has taken a turn to sound like a replica of plantation and colonial attitudes where the constant fear by the White male population was the violation of their White women by sexually potent and deviant African males. There is a long history of this ‘fear’ that can be traced throughout history and has certainly been expressed up to this day by East Indian groups and spokespersons in Trinidad who claimed at one time that African men were targeting Indian women for rape. These ideas have influenced the way many people have viewed this incident.
In addition, for many, the light-skinned look of the girl defied their own ideas of ‘the kind of girls that do that’, i.e. blacker, poorer ones, and to see their racist ideas of a black, sex-crazed stud brought to life in their vision of Akon was just too much to take. People are often fine with seeing Black females dancing and doing all sorts of things that they may find lewd and inappropriate, as they find it quite normal for them to do so. They, however, find it shocking that a light-skinned one would dance in ways that they deem lewd and furthermore with an African male. This speaks directly to their own racism and colourism and very little about the act itself or about Akon. It suits them to see the light-skinned young female as innocent and blameless and the African hip-hop singer as guilty and licentious regardless of the truth of the matter. Much of the discussion that has been going on the internet is full of such racist sentiments.
Akon and Danah on stage at Zen
The truth is, the female willingly came to a club, dressed in a way that is typical of older females who are used to the club scene, was allowed in, despite what Zen says are its rigid age checks, and willingly volunteered herself to dance on the stage in a competition for a prize and then with a male artiste. Regardless of whether she could have anticipated the kind of dancing that would have ensued, every step leading up to it was as a result of her own choices. The young lady in question was interviewed by TV6 news last night and in her own words she explained how she got carried away and was embarrassed to see herself afterward as the event was over so quickly that she did not realize that was what had happened or how it would have looked. Nowhere did she blame the artist or say she was abused. Nowhere did she chastise him for the way he danced with her and nowhere did she indicate that she was innocent in the affair. She clearly stated that she went to these clubs against her parent’s advice and that while at the time she did not see any big deal in the dance, when the clips hit the internet and she saw it, she then felt embarrassed and ashamed of the hurt she caused her parents and herself. This seemed to me like an honest recognition by an obviously young teenager, now stripped of her revealing outfit, makeup and fingernails, of an impulsive action that resulted in embarrassment for herself and others only after the fact.
The media, however, does seem to be attempting to distort what was said by the teenager or at the very least carrying contradictory reports. In the Guardian story carried today, the headline reads “I Was Cajoled Into Sexy Dance” which is a direct, deliberate distortion attempting to leave the casual reader with the impression that the teen was cajoled into dancing by the artiste Akon. The article continues:
My parents had no clue I was going to the concert or how I was dressed. I told them I was going with my cousins for ice cream. When I left the house I had on a jacket.
This contradicts what was said in the Newsday article, which states:
Danah said two days before the concert, a friend sponsored her a $450 VIP ticket. She said her parents, who were not present at the interview, knew she was going.
Newsday’s article also states:
Danah, daughter of Pastor Dave Alleyne, of the Flaming Word Ministry in Chaguanas, described her ordeal as shocking and humiliating. She insists she and other girls were deceived into entering a dance competition in which the first place winner would receive a trip to Africa.
While in what seems to be a different attitude, the TV6 interview with the girl herself gives the impression that at the time she did not think it was a big deal but it was only afterward when she saw it that she felt embarrassed.
Now I am sure the girl did feel embarrassed after seeing the video and after some members of the public began condemning her dancing, but it is a bit misleading to give the impression that she did not approve of the dancing while she was doing it. It seems to be a fair assessment that she was carried away in the moment, as she said, and did not think of the consequences. This is quite normal for many young people and many older people and in this case is not even a matter of condemnation and censure.
Akon and Danah on stage at Zen
People who have been commenting on this story have been claiming that the dancing was disgusting, lewd and even abusive to the female. Certainly people can claim to be disgusted by certain behavior; that is their right. People tend to express their disgust for many things; sexual expression is one that certainly raises much commentary. However that really is a matter of personal choice for people to decide what is appropriate for them. People are often quite dishonest and find that many things should be banned, including open truthful discussions about racism, colourism and African history, so it is not really smart to buy too many of their arguments about what is appropriate and what is not. The discussion however, becomes distorted because many comments on this matter have certainly been coming from people who don’t support these kind of expressions anyway: from Carnival to Dancehall Passa Passa to even the bare-breasted dancing of a well-respected South African dance troupe that performed in Trinidad a few years ago. Many people who comment on appropriateness of dancing at these kind of events do not even attend such events, concerts, parties or performances, and like many of those who have commented unfairly on the Akon concert, they have no real legitimate way of judging whether this is normal, whether many females do volunteer to go on stage for these wining competitions or not. They are quite content to blame Akon; an artist who was doing the job that he was paid to do by the nightclub, who should certainly have been aware of his act.
Now, ones could certainly object to what they may see as a particular performance style that is quite common in Hip-hop, Soca, Dancehall as well as some Rock acts and other musical forms; the idea that sex and sexuality must be dealt with in a context of domination, humiliation and the perpetuation of the illusion of dominant über-masculine sexuality. All are participants in that – the males that embrace those attitudes and the females who buy into it and allow themselves to be part of it. This was seen particularly at the end of the dance where Akon ran off and left the young lady on the ground where they had been dancing previously. However up to this point, if ones look at all the pictures from this event, it becomes clear that at the time of the act, the young lady in question did not appear to be distressed or trying to get away. She appeared to be enjoying herself, as did the other females who volunteered to enter this competition. That is their right. Certainly this is an area that can be discussed and reasoned. There are certainly reasons why some may see sexuality in this way and why it is commercially viable for music industry executives to sell this image. However, even in that discussion one has to see that once participants are willing and no one is hurt in these encounters it still remains a matter of taste and personal preference. Once all parties are willing then one cannot talk of anyone being taken advantage of or abused in that context.
Akon and Danah on stage at Zen
One thing that is crystal clear however, is the role of the nightclub, Zen, in the whole affair. It is illegal for nightclubs to admit people under 18 years of age. While Johnny Soong has stated that Zen adheres to a strict age policy where they ask for ID from patrons, the comments of the teenager do not show this at all. In the Express article she says:
“I know a lot of my friends who were my age and were there,” she said.
“They asked for ID in VIP because you have to be 21 years and over to go up in VIP, but anyone was allowed to go in the general admission area.”
In the Guardian article it states:
When they got to the club last week Thursday, she said, they proceeded to the VIP section but were stopped by the bouncers who said they had to be 21 years and over to enter, and asked for their identification cards.
Danah said, “We did not have it so they told us we had to go into general admission and we did.”
While Johnny Soong, owner of the nightclub states that this young lady may have “slipped through the cracks” many who do attend this club and many others can state clearly that many underage females especially are allowed into the nightclub. As a matter of fact, this nightclub in particular seems to be more concerned with admitting, light-skinned and brown-skinned females with a particular look, body shape and dress than about the age of the females. The club has come under fire many times for what some patrons have seen as racist and colour-biased practices in their admission policies. In light of this, it is not hard to see how this female could have been admitted despite the fact that she clearly stated that she did not have ID and was admitted anyway. It is in fact, the same colour bias that many people have displayed in commenting on this issue that led to the underage female being in the club in the first place. I suppose we can wait to see what action, if any, will be taken against the Zen nightclub for clearly breaking the law.
At the end of the day, the discussion of this issue has been riddled with distortions, which have made it difficult for some to see the issues clearly. Akon has been vilified because of his race, black skin and clearly stated Senegalese roots, as a sex-crazed fiend that took advantage of a young girl and cajoled her into committing lewd acts. The girl has been seen as innocent because of her age, her colour and her look that for some may not fit their idea of a ‘dancehall queen’, regardless of her own statements where she admitted her culpability and stated unequivocally that she got carried away and went voluntarily and now sees it as a mistake. In addition, as I previously stated, some commentary has been from the perspective of those who find that she was acting out of character as the daughter of a preacher. Some commentary has also been from the perspective of those who find that any sexual dancing is lewd anyway and should be frowned upon. While the dancing might not have been to the taste of some, that is really their affair and until people deal with their own sexual hang-ups they really cannot effectively judge another’s sexual expression. Issues of racism, colourism and sexuality rear their heads all the time in a variety of discussions because these issues are so fundamental and have remained unreasoned in the public space for too long.
Let us not continue to be hypocrites and see this issue for what it is.
Some images were reproduced from:
http://img141.imageshack.us/my.php?image=akonconcert046km0eo1.jpg
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http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/9558/akonconcert048xt8.jpg
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NEWS UPDATE: May 07, 2007
Police investigators have closed the books on investigations into the Danah Alleyne/Akon raunchy dancing incident at Zen nightclub.
According to Deputy Commissioner of Police Winston Cooper, the investigations have reached a stalemate as witnesses aren’t coming forward to support the police.
It’s been three weeks since police officers launched an investigation into the lewd dancing incident involving the fifteen year old pastor’s daughter, Danah Alleyne, and the hip-hop singer, Akon at Zen nightclub. A video clip of the act was posted on the internet and this sparked a national debate about such conduct and who is to blame.
UPDATE: June 13, 2007
Akon’s I’m Sorry Song
Akon apologized to his fans, the young girl, and Gwen Stefani today for his involvement in the onstage underage girl-humping incident that rocked across the net earlier this month.
UPDATE: July 12, 2007
Danah Alleyne to accept youth award
Danah Alleyne will accept the Youth Motivator Award and $1,000 in prize money from Choc’late Allen at her “100% Crime Free” Committee Youth Awards Ceremony to be held next Tuesday, despite a public outcry on the decision, even from Alleyne’s own brother, Ian.
Trinidad and Tobago News Blog’s URL for this article:
www.trinidadandtobagonews.com/blog/?p=221
I think the whole thing has been blown out of proportion,the girl went willingly unto the stage, got involved in an act which had her embarassed and now everyone wants to blame the artiste, if her father is so shocked at her behaviour it is because he has not done a good enough job of raising her, please do not blame Akon for this minor’s mistakes, is he expected to check the ID of everyone who jumps on stage with him?
As a young woman i would not degrade my self so low and as for danah she she’s not to blame it her parents cause they are the ones who have to set the rules and have to see that it is being respected
The blame needs to be put on her and her parents. First of all the girl is fourteen with navel piercings and a big tattoo on her back. We know that she was capable of these acts before it was captured on video. Now she is sorry because she got caught. Lets be real where at 11 at night you are sending your fourteen year old to get ice cream and even if she was in a jacket where she was going in those red pumps, get over it. Lets be real what time did she come home after getting this alleged ice cream. The parents need to get real, your daughter is clearly out of control it was just a matter of time. Look at her pictures on hi5. Stop blaming the artist because he had no clue that a fourtenn year old will be in the club. As for zen that have to start carding but her parents should take the majority of the blame.
Pastor they say spear the rod and spoil the child. In fact the God’s word said this. You and your daughter are totally responsible for everything that took place. If You allowed her to go it’s your fault and if you did not know then blame her, not the club. And what kind of father and pastor allows their children to dress like hookers. Don’t spoil the child… use the rod! for God’s sake.
Akon did not abuse thjat girl. as you can see by the photos that that ghirlm was all over him and all he did was dance with her. i could see if he had sex with the girl. Also if she is soooooooo young then why is she dressed like that. also her fresh ass was ridn him so i dont see why its all on him. I dont think he knew how old the girl was. This is sum bull shit.
I think that if any blame is to be,is on the club that threw that party..the security is very poorly and not accepted..that kid was only fourtheen,,and she got in an eighteen year old club,where the hell is the parents?…and why are they letting her go to partys like that…they say that the father is a pastor,,,what is he teaching his kids???I think he needs Jesus,because christian kids that was brought up in a good christian home would have never acted like that,in that type of manner.and I think akon should apolergized to the parents etc…We should never let these performers from abroad think that they could do whatever they want in our Island..Trinidad is still a good place,and we should treat it with our deepest respect,,,because that’s the type off Nation we are….from a true Trini..
i thought that, that girl was iggnorant in what she was doing and that akon is hot as hell!!!!!!!!
Although the moral content of the girl’s soul can be compared to that of a mustard seed, Akon has to share some of the blame in this situation along with the club managers.
First, Akon being a celebrity must realise how susceptible he is to public scrutiny and blame. I am tired of our black brothers thinking with their head that is brainless. This situation draws parallels with the Kobe Bryant case. Akon (and his management) should know that there are a bunch of people in this world who do not work for what they want and are attention deprived – people who do stupid publicity stunts for attention and dinero. Wake up black men!! When you reach celebrity status, you have to think about the reprocussions of every action especially the ones that can demolish your career in seconds.
Now to the club managers:
The fact that a fourteen year old can get into a club is a slap into the face of security at the club. If a fourteen year old can get into a club, think of all the other things that clubs dont accept that can get in?!? I wouldn’t feel safe at any club where this happened. Come on security…pull up your socks…
To the public:
If the female involved was not 14 and was legal, does that still validate what took place? Immoral is immoral regardless of age, status, height, colour, or creed and it would still be a potential case against Akon similar to Kobe.
I seriously want my brothers, especially those in authority roles and celebrity figures to think before they act.
plz akon did not abuse dat girl. she wanna play hott n grown up dressin up like the n she winking up n him pulling his belt n so n they have da heart 2 make it seem like akon is a rapist or someting. he aint tie down her hands n feet n if she didnt want 2 she coulda stop. look @ da tatoo. look @ how she was dressed n da heels she had on. does she seem like an innocent 14 yr old. i don’t even wana believe she’ 14 myself. y da hell her parents have her dressin like dat n goin dem kina places. they can only blame themselves. n she tryna act so innocent talkin bout if she would have known wat would happen she woul never go. o plz. her father as well is a hypocrite. he should stop blamin ppl cause his child was not actin like a 14 yr old n it’s all 4 show
Danah was never innocent in the first place! I saw her on a passa passa DvD for the steps nightclub also. December edition!
Based on explicit pictures of this young lady posted on another website; I am convinced that she is not the “innocent preacher’s daughter” she wants people to believe.
This young lady seems to be hitting the night spots quite regularly and by the way she dresses; she cannot blame anyone for what happened. She seemed to have had a lot of fun with Akon. Perhaps she was hoping to become one of his dancers.
I think she had enogh publicity, it is time to stop blaming Akon and the people at Zen. Instead blame the preacher and his daughter.
Verizon ‘konvicts’ Akon
click on pic to zoom inAkon…ONE of the world’s largest cellular phone providers Verizon has ended its partnership with hip-hop star Akon. Fox News newtwork online edition reported that the Senegalese-born star was axed by Verizon Wireless after he (Akon) simulated the rape of a 15-year-old girl on stage at the Zen nightclub three weeks ago.
“This week the partnership ended,” Verizon said in a statement sent to Fox News. “We have music services on our cellphone service and we were promoting him as one of the artistes. The other part of the sponsorship was the Gwen Stefani tour, of which he was an opening act. We are no longer sponsoring the tour.”
Verizon ends tie with ‘rape rapper’
Verizon Drops Akon Over Explicit Dance
Akon Axed by Verizon Over Simulated Rape
Verizon Ends Partnership With Hip-Hop Star Akon Following Simulated Rape
Verizon Drops Akon
Verizon Cuts Off Rapper’s Sponsorship After “Simulated Rape”
Verizon Ends Partnership With Hip-Hop Star Akon Following Simulated Rape
Previous News:
Big corporations help ‘rape rapper’ tour U.S.
Verizon Teams Up With Ex-Con Rapper Accused of Molesting 15 Year Old Girl
Look who’s promoting a vulgar misogynist
Akon & Verizon Wireless Team up for Innovative V CAST TV Campaign
this girl denah went there for exactly what she wanted and she got it, the only thing is that she got caught. how is akon to blame for all of this? in the first place, akon was not expecting to meet any underaged persons there, she showed up and entered a competition where she was to win a trip to africa, well congratulations denah, you won, but was it worth it? she enjoyed every bit of that performance and she made it her business that akon enjoyed it by the way she grined on him. don’t blame akon, he’s an entertainer, he was doing his job but as the daughter of a pastor, denah was not doing hers, not by her atire or her conduct.
Alon did nothing wrong they are making abig deal about this beacuse her parents are in the church. She should not have been in tha club at her age.
It upsets me that everytime a young girl decides she wants to be grown and make her own choices the men get blamed for it. I believe that Akon did nothing wrong I mean what was he suppose to do ask her for her ID before the dance took place. That is crazy and I also believe that the club shouldn’t be at fault either for the simple fact that some people can get fake ID’s now and days and you wouldn’t know the difference. The only reason this is a big deal is because of who her father is and because he probably got upset at the whole situation, but I bet you any money that her father was anyone else that this wouldn’t even be an issue….
Police investigations have closed on the Danah/Akon affair and it is now clear to those who were in disbelief that there was nothing illegal about their dancing as shown in the videoclip. Indeed, as part of police investigations, police would have been looking to determine if the dance was in fact lewd or if it was a prelude to a sexual act. The fact that investigations are at a halt, proves what some of this blog have been saying all along: there is nothing illegal about Danah’s dancing, Akon’s dancing, or any other similar dancing that take place in Trinidad and Tobago.
good job akon but u should be more careful
to the writer of this article, “here we go again”, everyone is picking on us poor black people, everything negative about us is due to everyone else never our own fault and it is all due to the slave trade. It’s got nothing to do with the lack of black fathers sticking around and doing their job. It’s got nothing to do with all we want is the bling bling lifestyle but don’t want to work to get it. Get a life.
Akon – not guilty of anything he is an entertainer.
Denah – kids have forgotten how to be kids today.
Her Parents – do your job.
The Primeminister – hypocrite, what about carnival time?
Owner of ZEN – he has a duty, he should be fined.
People of Trinidad stop listening to these idiots stirring up old racial tensions.
OMG DUDE AKON JUST DANCED WITH A GURL ITS NOT LIKE HE HAD SEX WITH HER EVER1 NEEDS TO CALM DOWN THE GURL CHOOSE TO DO IT HE DIDNT FORCE HER OR NE THING JEEZE HE IS A GUD GUY AND IF SHE IS A PASTURES DAUGHTER SHE SHUD ACT LIKE IT THEN NOT DRESS LIKE THAT PEOPLE SHUD B MAD AT THE GURL NOT AKON SORRY BUT HE JUST DANCED WITH HER AND THATS IT SO I DONT SEE WHY IS GETTING BLAMED FOR IT.
this gal is dam nasty shes de one dat shud be gettin screwed cos she ovaly looks lik she is enjoy it so boi dats her init dam nasty and even look at de way shes dressed she dnt even look her adge so how is he suppost to no dam gal was lovin it all i hav no symp
First of all…that chick should get checked!! Not only did she have a tattoo on her backside and a belly button ring but she was dressed like a straight up hoe!!! Your going to tell me that this girl is innocent???? Please give me a break!! im so vexed!! This is so typical of the white media; they have always wanted to humiliate successful black artists for example OJ Simpson, Tupac Shakur, Whitney Houston, Kobie Bryant. of course they want to bring him down! he’s an AFRICAN successfully talented artist! everybody will do anything in their power to bring him down etc……she said she was 19, then 14 now she’s 15. She cant even keep her damn story straight!! …you see the way she was all up on akon like glue???. I just hope that after this event Akon will learn his lesson and cool it the next time when he is in public. Pastors daughter…. that’s the only reason why they are making a big deal about it, stupidly dismissing the fact that all pastors daughter are always up to some kind of mischief. Whatever, she is stupid that’s all I have to say. if you are going to do nasty like that then be responsible for your nasty actions…and if she had some kind of respect for herself she would have shut her mouth and dealt with her consequences
First of all before the preacher goes all national and everything, he needs to think about the relationship he has (or not have) with his daughter that she snuck out the house with that outfit on (I know she did) to see someone she knew her father would disapprove of and sit in the front row and have her picture taken while she’s straddling some grown man who clearly sings “Smack that all on the floor, smack that give me some more smack that oooooh (oops, got a lil carried away :))” . She should’ve sat her dumb ass in the back row.
Akon and his music are well known and most of his songs share the same content. I believe that girl misled her father about what she was wearing, and maybe or not about whom she was going to see but about the type of artist he really is. His behavior may not be appropriate but it is not his responsibility to make sure your children are doing the right thing, performing and entertaining the audience is his job and his own pastime. He’s not a CHILE ENTERTAINER or advocate plain and simple.
If I were there I definitely would have gotten on stage to dance with him, it’s fun and chances are I won’t have the chance to get on stage with him again so I’m going to enjoy myself while I can, that’s what I’m there for to have a good time according to ME. I’m a grown ass woman and that little girl was doing grown woman things. And half the woman out here know damn well when they go to a club and see a fine ass man and your favorite song is on you give it up on the dance floor (may be not laying down and what not)and that moment it makes you happy. You don’t think about what someone else is saying, at least I don’t. KEEP DOING YOUR THING AKON!!!
you make some really excellent points about how racial issues can cloud people’s judgment. it didn’t even occur to me when i saw the clip that the issue had anything to do with race. clearly, jumping to a racially-motivated explanation is horribly prejudicial and destructive. my problem with the situation was that it exemplifies this pervasive culture of female sexual exploitation. i agree that the girl appeared to be a willing participant, but she was also underage. there is a reason why we don’t allow children to consent to sexual acts with adults; because of the power dynamic, it simply isn’t something we can consider free of coercion. i believe that, except in rare cases of minors deliberately manipulating adults, it is the responsibility of the ADULT to behave in an appropriate manner, no matter what the minor does. moreover, i am very concerned by the many responses i have seen that comment on the young woman’s clothing; pointing to her attire as justification for the act. that sounds frighteningly like individuals who argue that women who dress provocatively DESERVE to be raped or sexually assaulted. that’s absurd, and it worries me that people are saying that she was treated in a manner that reflected her choice of dress. there is no type of clothing that makes it okay for a woman to be exploited sexually. i find it problematic that women themselves are contributing to the image that females serve the sole purpose of serving men sexually. but i think that speaks to a bigger issue of gender roles and sexism that are pervasive in many cultures.
Although I do not agree with the type of dancing that expresses domination on the part of the male and humiliation of the female, the dancing was part of a contest that guided the behavior of both Akon and Danah. To blame Danah or Akon would be wrong because it is the coordinator of the contest and the director of the concert that decided to hold such a contest with guidelines that would expectedly involve this type of dancing. Female subjugation is expressed in all forms, including dance. Although Danah is the preacher’s daughter, one is not to forget that Danah is also part of the generation of young teenagers who are guided by various teachers, including our patriarchical society that teaches male domination over females.
Although I do not agree with the lewd and suggestive dance laws, here is an example of how they have been applied to strip dancers who expose their ‘private parts’.
5 plead guilty to ‘dirty dancing’
FIVE women, charged with dancing in a lewd manner at a club, told a magistrate yesterday that they were invited to do a fashion show. Appearing in the San Fernando Magistrates’ Court, the women denied they were dancing in scanty clothing and exposing their private parts, as alleged by WPCs Huggins and Alexander.
What is the big deal when society have become vulgar on TV, billboards, talk shows etc…. exposing the youths of society today. Are we contradicting what already exist in this world we live in? There will be more incidents like this and even worse in our present and future. This so called child doesn’t behave innocent or neither does she appear to be a virgin. Her maturity level does show her being a woman. It show her to be of common nature, non spiritual and non committed. The youths are buying the x-rated clothes the merchants have in their place of business and us consumers, the government and even the parents of these children does nothing. Yet when something like this occurs we want to blame this girl or this guy when no one does nothing to discourage the clothing. We are already confronted with a demoralizing society and things will not change unless everyone come together and raise the children as a village not just the parents. Why are we so surprised with what we saw when this happens all the time.
Akon shouldn’t be blamed in anyway about the incident because he was never told that the ZEN club was for people below the age of 21 or 18.
He was invited to come and perform as a well and popular known artist and that was what He did. Nobody should pass sentiments on him for the fact he is a black from West Africa,because there is nothing wrong with where He came from, all that matters is that we are all human beings with everything the same.
The blame should go to the club authority and Danah Alleyne herself who got into the club as a minor and the authority that allowed her to enter without sticking to their law of age restriction in a club.
Akon’s I’m Sorry Song
Akon apologized to his fans, the young girl, and Gwen Stefani today for his involvement in the onstage underage girl-humping incident that rocked across the net earlier this month.
“Sorry, Blame It On Me” is a nice enough song. That is the way it often seems to go, the person who isn’t really to blame, gets the blame. He seemed pretty straight on the Danah thing though, that it was not his responsibility, but he took the blame.
akon should not be blamed for this incodent because how was he suppose to know that the girl was underage.Akon is a great person and be would never do something like that on purpose.So dont blame akon for this or the girl just make sher it doesnt happen again.