Akon Sorry For Buddha And Booty Music Video
One of the tamer scenes featuring the Buddha statue. Screen shot from "Sexy Chick" video hide caption
Pop music star Akon apologized Wednesday for his and David Guetta's"Sexy Chick" music video which has offended Buddhists because it features a poolside bacchanalia with a large statue of Buddha readily apparent in some scenes.
Indeed in one scene that goes by quickly but which is stunning in its brazenness, the video's director shot a young actress-model-dancer at an angle to make it appear that she was displaying her booty to Buddha. It comes at about the 1:50 point in the video.
The video and a planned tour stop to Sri Lanka by Akon triggered violence there which led authorities to deny Akon a visa.
Reuters reports:
COLOMBO, March 23 (Reuters) - Singer Akon on Wednesday said
he was disheartened Sri Lanka planned to deny him a visa to
perform on the Indian Ocean island nation, after Buddhists
angered by a video he appeared in staged a violent protest.
Akon's international booking agents, American Talent
Agency, said in a statement they had postponed the show until
the safety of both the performers and fans could be guaranteed,
but were working to secure a new date.
On Monday, hundreds of rock-throwing protesters attacked
the headquarters of Sri Lanka's largest private broadcaster,
which was the media sponsor of Akon's planned April concert in
the Buddhist-majority nation. Four people were injured.
The protesters were apparently angered by the "Sexy Bitch"
video by French DJ David Guetta featuring Akon, in which a
statue of the Buddha on top of a building appears briefly in
the background as dozens of scantily dressed women dance near a
pool.
"I was not aware that the statue was even on the set of the
video until now. I would never set out to offend or desecrate
anyone's religion or religious beliefs," Akon said in a
statement.
On Tuesday, the government said it would deny Akon a visa
to enter the country as a result of the religious uproar.
"I myself am a spiritual man, so I can understand why they
are offended, but violence is never the answer and I am
disheartened," Akon said.
It's hard to understand how Akon and the video makers could have missed the statue since it's rather large and has a commanding view of the pool.
Maybe they didn't so much miss it as not understand the power of the religious symbol they used as a prop. It's hard to believe they would set out to offend. Now they know.
As for the video, it's a perfectly forgettable young male's fantasy, as is the song it visualizes. It's all arrested development. It doesn't seem worthy of all the fuss it has generated.