GayIndy.Org News
Indianapolis, August 11, 2004-- In response to concerns from the Indianapolis GLBT community, The Vogue Theatre in Indianapolis has announced the cancellation of a scheduled October 28 performance of controversial Jamaican dancehall reggae performer Beenie Man. The artist's blatantly homophobic lyrics have advocated the "execution" of gays.
This is not the first rejection of Beenie man, whose real name is Anthony Davis. A show was cancelled in London and the artist was greeted by Scotland Yard officials after protests by the civil rights group OutRage, and performances in Cleveland and St. Louis have also been cancelled due to community objections.
The lyrics of Beenie Man's hit song, Bad Man Chi Chi Man (Bad Man, Queer Man), tells listeners to kill gays: "If yuh nuh chi chi (queer) man wave yuh right hand and (NO!!!)/If yuh nuh lesbian wave yuh right hand and (NO!!!)Some bwoy will go a jail fi kill man tun bad man chi chi man!!!./Tell mi, sumfest it should a be a showdown/Yuh seem to run off a stage like a clown (Kill Dem DJ!!!)".
In Jamaican patois slang, "batty man" and "chi chi man" are the equivalent of "poof" and "faggot."
Other Beenie Man lyrics have included the lines "I'm dreaming of a new Jamaica, come to execute all the queers" ( from the song "Damn") and "Hang chi chi gal [lesbian] wid a long piece of rope" ( from "Han up Deh").
The Vogue, which has a long-standing reputation as an inclusive and welcoming nightclub, was "extremely appalled" when they learned of Beenie Man's lyric content according to a spokesperson for the venue. The Vogue was quick to explain that the show was booked and promoted by an outside promoter and not by the club itself.
In an official statement, the Vogue writes "we were shocked to hear these statements and began to immediately look into ways for us to cancel this show...we were as equally offended as everyone else."
Local GLBT community leaders have praised the Vogue for its decision. "Thankfully, Beenie Man's attempt to advocate for the violent death of gays and lesbians has not found a home in Indiana" said activist Marti Abernathey who was organizing a protest had the show not been canceled, "I commend The Vogue for saying no to hate."
To date, none of the cancelled U.S. shows have been removed from Beenie Man's website, and there is no word on what effect these cancellations may have on the remainder of the tour.