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Bennie Man - File
The only dancehall act on one of the biggest festivals in Auckland, New Zealand, Beenie Man could be pushed off the show by gay activists.
Gay activists in New Zealand have been raising protests on the Internet, in local newspapers and on air against the performance of Beenie Man in New Zealand, due to anti-gay lyrics he had done in the past.
Beenie Man is the only reggae/dancehall act billed for 'Big Day Out 2010' which takes place on Friday, January 15th at the Mt. Smart Stadium in Penrose, Auckland.
The King of the Dancehall is booked to perform alongside acts such as bisexual electronic musician Peaches, Lilly Allen, Ladyhawke, Muse, Minuit, Groove Armada, Calvin Harris and Simian Mobile Disco.
On social networking site Facebook, a group was formed on Wednesday called 'Standing up against Beenie Man at Big Day Out 2010'. When THE WEEKEND STAR visited the site yesterday it had 1,222 members, who had joined during the course of a day.
However, while Beenie Man is shown on the festival's website as being confirmed for the event, when THE WEEKEND STAR spoke to Beenie Man's brother and manager 'Blue' yesterday, he said that Beenie Man has not been officially contracted to perform. Blue said they were aware of the protests since Wednesday and were puzzled by it.
He said, "I don't even know how dis issue reach so far, cause we haven't closed the contract as yet. We have been in discussion with the organisers for the last three weeks to a month. They sent the contract and we weren't comfortable with some things in it so we're not even sure if we're going to go as yet or not." According to Blue, if the contractual matters are sorted out to their benefit, despite the protests, Beenie Man is willing to perform on the Festival.
The Big Day Out (BDO) is an annual music festival held in several cities in Australia and New Zealand in late January. It started in Sydney in 1992 and has since spread featuring seven to eight stages accommodating popular contemporary rock music, electronic music, mainstream international acts and local acts.
In an interview on the 'Breakfast News' - a show in New Zealand, Jay Bennie, content editor of Gaynz.com discussed in length the proposed ban on the artiste's performance. The host starts off the interview by saying, "he (Beenie Man) is hateful, his lyrics are nasty." Bennie further goes on to call Beenie Man one of the main proponents of 'murder music' coming out of Jamaica.
He said, "I think the organisers should re-send their invitation to him on the basis that he is an icon, a representative of a way of life, a way of thinking that is unacceptable, unpalatable in New Zealand."
Pointing to the fact that Beenie Man has previously been denied entry in the United Kingdom due to the same matter, Bennie called for the New Zealand immigration officials to look at the situation very closely. He said, "the immigration department has a responsibility to ensure that people coming into New Zealand don't ruin New Zealand's international character and also that the people that come in here don't cause public disorder or incite hatred and that sort of thing. I think this man is capable of all that and his reputation brings it with him, even if he doesn't actively do it here."
In a statement issued by the Big Day Out promoters, they have made it clear that since signing the Reggae Compassionate Act in 2007, Beenie Man has stayed true to his word and refrained from performing the offending songs. Promoter Campbell Smith was quoted as saying in the statement, "the Big Day Out's core values include those of tolerance and understanding."
The statement, which can be seen on www.undertheradar.co.nz, further stated, "we are responding to concerns that Beenie Man's presence at the event may compromise those values and are directly investigating fears that he will perform material conflicting with our philosophy and his own undertakings pursuant to the RCA (Reggae Compassionate Act). It may take us up to a week to resolve this matter."
In the article published in the New Zealand Herald titled 'Controversial anti-gay rapper to perform at Big Day Out', Member of Parliament in New Zealand, Kevin Hague has reportedly added his voice to the protests, calling for the organisers to cancel Beenie Man's appearance. "Hatemongering is not welcome in New Zealand. Big Day Out must withdraw its invitation. If it does not, then both musicians and fans will be called upon to declare which side they are on," he was quoted as saying.
This is not the first incident that Beenie Man has had with gay activists. In 2006, an HIV-awareness concert he was due to perform in New York was cancelled after protests. He was also banned from performing at the 2004 MTV UK Mobo awards in London. And more recently, protesters in the United States attempted to prevent Beenie Man and Buju Banton from performing there.
