UK gay rights campaigners have rejected a statement from Beenie Man in which he apologised for including homophobic lyrics in his tracks.
As previously reported, the Jamaican music scene has become something of a target for gay rights groups in the UK of late. Campaigning organisations like OutRage object to the lyrics of a number of different dancehall artists who seemingly incite violence against gay people. As part of their campaign OutRage has recently begun targeting venues who host gigs by these artists, and radio stations that play their music. A recent Beenie Man gig in London was cancelled after the host venue became concerned about the bad PR surrounding the show in light of the campaign.
With than in mind Beenie Man this week issued a statement apologising for any lyrics that seemed to incite violence. In the statement he said: "As a human being, I renounce violence towards other human beings in every way, and pledge henceforth to uphold these values as I move forward in my career as an artist".
However, a spokesman for OutRage was not impressed with the statement, accusing Beenie Man of being insincere and opportunistic. In a statement a spokesman for the campaigning group told reporters: "Beenie Man's so-called apology is so vague that it does not even mention what he is apologising for. It could be an apology for anything. It contains no explicit regret for his incitements to murder gay people, and no specific affirmation of his respect for homosexuals and for homosexual human rights."