Is it that serious? Ashanti’s “Gotcha-gram” site shut down
People are so sensitive. We tend to make things bigger than what they are and blow things out of proportion (I know, I am guilty of this too).
Poor Ashanti, she was just trying to promote her album and she had this website based on her video “The Way That I love you”. Everyone is in an uproar because of the violent content and……BLOOD! Gasp! More under the hood:
“Ashanti’s record label Universal Music Group has taken down a controversial Web site amid protests and outrage over its use of a fake killing spree to promote her new album, “The Declaration.”
Parents and religious groups protested outside of her record company Tuesday and threatened to disrupt her scheduled performance of the National Anthem at Game 5 of the NBA finals at LA’s Staples Center. As a result, Universal shut down the gotcha-grams and removed the Web site altogether.
Najee Ali of Project Islamic Hope joined more than two dozen concerned parents and religious leaders outside of LA’s Universal/Motown offices Tuesday in calling for the Web site to be taken down. Former radio veteran and BET staffer Paul Porter of the nonpartisan media justice think tank Industry Ears, said the video came to his attention on Monday, and he immediately called Ali.
“I questioned not only the content of the video, but also why Universal/Motown would support this effort,” Porter said. “The real shock is that Ashanti is squeaky-clean … and the song has nothing to do with murdering someone, so the video is definitely constructed for shock value, and we feel there’s enough violence in our inner cities without you picking your weapon of choice.” (source)
Your thoughts?
Posted: June 12th, 2008 under WTF?, music, website.
Comments: 10
comments
Comment from mike belgrove
Time: June 12, 2008, 12:04 pm
I first got wind of Ashanti’s “murdergrams” when my fellow blogger Juan covered it on HN.
Honestly I think it is getting a bit too much concern. Though I do feel it is in bad taste I don’t find it all that bad. just a tasteless practical joke.
If the site hadn’t gotten yanked down I probably would have gotten a person or two with it. 
Comment from Misconstrued
Time: June 12, 2008, 1:34 pm
There are many more important things in this world than a website and fake blood, I mean come on….
Comment from niece
Time: June 12, 2008, 3:55 pm
what people do just to get the ATTENTION!
Comment from Muhammad
Time: June 12, 2008, 8:00 pm
In no way should Ashanti be blamed for this. She’s truly a sweet woman in my opinion which isn’t prevalent in the music industry. This was an idea by someone in her camp that would hopefully boost her record sales. It probably could’ve been done in a cleaner way, but I found it real to life. This outrage should’ve been shown for the many reality shows on tv that show behavior that is too violent. I think the video itself wasn’t bad. It was similar to Jigga’s video for “99 Problems” in that it showed a murder. I would rather riot over the millions of negative images shown across violent movies before I down Ashanti’s video like that (which I liked).
Comment from ODARA
Time: June 12, 2008, 8:17 pm
yep totally blown out of proportion…they even had a lady on tv talking about she feared for her life when she got one of those gotcha emails…get outta here…people need to chill…
Comment from Cassandra
Time: June 12, 2008, 10:37 pm
WOW. I know she must had a disclaimer saying the site was for entertainment purposes only. Where is all this hooplah at when kids are needing books and other supplies for school, or my favorite: grocery and gas prices soaring while wages/salaries are still the same???
Comment from lipsticklacebrassknuckles.wordpress.com
Time: June 13, 2008, 1:39 am
When I first saw it I thought it was a bit much, only because there are some crazy girls out there. My boyfriend has a stalker ex now and honestly if she sent one of those to him we would have thought she was implying something because she is crazy. I think the video was enough, the website was a bit much but to protest…come on as high as gas is THAT’S what they chose to protest!!
Comment from freshandfab
Time: June 13, 2008, 9:30 am
these are the things that really irritate me
So why did they have to do that, homegirl was tryna promote her new album, make that paper
it had to be the popel that werent feeling it that went on the site regularly, a mess.
Comment from DROCK
Time: June 13, 2008, 1:28 pm
In this day an age, I feel it was a little over the top..to many peoples kids are dying in every urban city due to violence to be sending bloody messages to people..She didnt think there was anything wrong with this mess, but she was on Murder Inc. so whatever…This dumb move on her and her peoples part will cost her the little bit of career she had left..
Comment from rebecca
Time: June 13, 2008, 5:17 pm
It so was in bad taste.. murder isnt a joke, and cheating or being cheated on isnt a laughing matter…. It was a marketing tactic that backfired… but there are more things to worry about in life than a website egram or whatever
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