Erykah Badu gets death threats
Looks like Malaysians won’t be forgiving and forgetting anytime soon.
Angry Malaysians are flooding American R&B star Erykah Badu’s Facebook page with death threats and disparaging comments, three days after The Star published a picture of the 41-year-old with the Arab word for ‘Allah’ on her body,
A video of Badu saying hello to Malaysia posted by her management was met with angry responses, with a few of them asking her to “go to h*ll!” A commenter condemned Badu for “insulting Allah” and that he would “kill her with his bare hands” if she comes to Malaysia.
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A commenter said: “We all waiting to kill u... please u are welcome”. Another commenter also posted threatening remarks, saying: “Welcome to malaysia, we all waiting for u with guns n knife in our hand..have fun in malaysia..”
However, not all comments posted on Badu’s Facebook page were threats, with some pledging their support for the Grammy Award-winning artiste and apologizing for the behavior of some.
A commenter said: “Erykah, if you're reading this, be strong and just go ahead with the concert. Your fans have been waiting a long time for you to perform here. Ignore the bigots.” Another commenter echoed the comment, saying: “I do hope that in the future you will return to perform for your true fans, and not be disheartened by the crude, ignorant, overzealous few.”
“I sincerely apologize for all this nonsense. We are indeed livin’ in a world so strange! Keep smiling Ms Badu.”
Badu was scheduled to perform for the first time here at the Plenary Hall in KL on February 29th as part of her Asian tour, but the concert was cancelled by the Ministry of Information, Communications and Culture on the eleventh hour for breaching Puspal guidelines on religious sensitivities.
Minister of Information Datuk Seri Rais Yatim justified the Ministry’s decision to scrap the concert: “The ‘Allah’ graphic on the singer’s body will surely create religious controversies among Muslims who do not appreciate such practice.
“The cancellation of the concert is based on justification, if continued, will create a bigger and prolonged problem.”
Of course, Badu isn't the only foreign artiste who courted controversy in Malaysia: in 2003, rock band Linkin Park was banned from wearing shorts during their concert, punk rock princess Avril Lavigne's concert here in 2008 was nearly canceled because her dance moves were deemed "too provacative" and singer Adam Lambert was condemned because of his sexual preference.
