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Erykah Badu Responds To Malaysia Media Backlash

Posted on February 29th, 2012
by
Karen


"malaysian ad"

Yesterday, sultry, political, and social neo-soulstress Erykah Badu made headlines when authorities in Malaysia banned her from performing in the scheduled Kuala Lumpur concert.  Fans, outraged, took to Twitter and other outlets to express their disgruntled reaction to those who disapproved of Badu’s appearance.

In all fairness, it’s been reported that the Malaysian Newspaper, The Star, printed the above photo of Badu without realizing the ramifications of the tattooed words on her body; one of which translates to “Allah.”  In Muslim culture, tattoos of such name-sake magnitude are not deemed as kosher, especially given the location–nearest the bare shoulders.

The tattoo was seen as offensive and an “insult to Islam” as one Malaysian reporter put it.  Created as a promotional ad,  the sensitivity of this subject was simply mistakenly overlooked.  The Star has since apologized for the mishap, and now, Erykah Badu has stated her peace as well:

My fav film maker is @alejodorowsky. He made a movie called The holy mountain in the 70s. 1 of his characters is called the painted lady … She wore all symbols and names of God on her body. I posed as her in a photo shoot for New Am pt2. This idea embodies who we ALL are.. One … This photo was chosen & edited by the promoters here in Malaysia. They were very responsible to the people and it’s Muslim beliefs … One particular paper retrieved am unedited photo and printed it along with its article.. This is where the upset began …The gov. Of Malaysia had to be responsible to its people’s beliefs .. Even If it were just 1 or 2 complaints. I understand. It’s an election year … Keep in mind.

via Facebook

Simple and Respectable.  I’d say she put an end to all the media frenzy.  What’s your thoughts on the situation?  Could it had been handled better or averted all together?

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