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Pop singer Beyonce Knowles performs scantily-clad dance on tomb of President Ulysses S Grant
BBC News/Entertainment On Line ^
| Monday, 14 July
| staff writer
Posted on 07/14/2003 7:32:25 AM PDT by yankeedame
Last Updated: Monday, 14 July, 2003, 08:46 GMT 09:46 UK
Beyonce's 'grave dance' causes grief
Beyonce took part in the annual Macy's Fourth of July celebrations
Pop singer Beyonce Knowles should not have been allowed to perform a scantily-clad dance on the tomb of former United States President Ulysses S Grant, a historical group has said. The star danced in a "patently inappropriate" way on the steps to the tomb during a nationally-televised 4 July concert, according to Frank Scaturro, president of the Grant Monument Association.
The Destiny's Child chart-topper used "lascivious choreography" and her backing dancers were barely dressed, Mr Scaturro said in a letter to NBC, which filmed the performance.
Her latest single, Crazy In Love, is currently number one in the UK and US.
A certain decorum should have been observed from which popular entertainers are not exempt
Frank Scaturro Grant Monument Association And her album held onto the top spot in the UK on Sunday but was knocked off the summit in the US by Ashanti last week.
In his letter, Mr Scaturro wrote: "At that location, a certain decorum should have been observed from which popular entertainers are not exempt."
The letter also went to the Secretary of the Interior, Gale Norton, and National Park Service director Fran Mainella.
Watch Beyonce perform Crazy In Love on Top of the Pops Ulysses S Grant was a Civil War hero who became the 18th president, between 1869-77.
His tomb, erected as a national monument in 1897, is in New York. The concert was part of the annual Macy's Fourth of July celebrations.
Also performing were American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson plus Sheryl Crow and John Mellencamp.
'More thoughtful'
Ulysses Grant Dietz, the great-great-grandson of Ulysses S Grant, said he did not object to most live performances, as long as the tomb was looked after.
But organisers could have been more thoughtful, he added.
"If they're doing a Fourth of July celebration and they're doing it at a grave of a president, maybe they should look a little more closely at what the performances are."
NBC and Beyonce were not available for comment and a National Park Service spokesman did not want to comment because he had not seen the letter.
TOPICS: Front Page News; News/Current Events
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To: Only1choice____Freedom
41
posted on
07/14/2003 8:48:54 AM PDT
by
ewing
To: yankeedame
I doubt she knows who Grant was.
42
posted on
07/14/2003 8:49:28 AM PDT
by
linn37
(Have you hugged your Phlebotomist today?)
To: All
43
posted on
07/14/2003 8:53:47 AM PDT
by
Cooter
To: Cooter
What about singing 'Rolling Down the River/Proud Mary' with Jewel on VH1..even Ulysses Grant would have noticed the shimmy Las Vegas style wardrobe..
44
posted on
07/14/2003 8:55:46 AM PDT
by
ewing
To: yankeedame
I'm sure America's first black president wouldn't have minded if she performed for him.
45
posted on
07/14/2003 8:56:05 AM PDT
by
csvset
To: yankeedame
Saw the performance. Thought it odd at Grant's Tomb, but you don't expect Beyonce to sing Feelings or Maresedoats wearing a sweater and pleated skirt do you?
46
posted on
07/14/2003 9:01:08 AM PDT
by
jimfree
("Never did no wanderin after all.")
To: cake_crumb
Amazingy crass and ignorant behavior...that will never be done on/near the tomb of certain other figures in American history.
To: yankeedame
The star danced in a "patently inappropriate" way on the steps to the tomb during a nationally-televised 4 July concert What, exactly, IS an appropriate way to dance at Grant's Tomb?
48
posted on
07/14/2003 9:05:16 AM PDT
by
Sloth
("I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!" -- Jacobim Mugatu, 'Zoolander')
To: Cooter
Yow! Only a few shreds of cloth keep it out of the strictly adult entertainment catagory.
49
posted on
07/14/2003 9:06:59 AM PDT
by
oyez
(Does Time-Warner suckorwhat?)
To: linn37
I doubt she knows who Grant was.After the pictures on thsi thread, I can't remember who Grant was either.
50
posted on
07/14/2003 9:10:19 AM PDT
by
proust
(Hello, Cthulhu!)
To: oyez
Re #43: I saw that braodcast a couple of weeks ago and I swear that, for a very brief time, it was R-rated.
51
posted on
07/14/2003 9:13:57 AM PDT
by
Cooter
To: ken5050
Beyonce, no doubt, was asked "who's buried in Grant's Tomb?" No doubt her fan base learned more about American history during this concert than they did in four years of high school.
52
posted on
07/14/2003 9:17:13 AM PDT
by
skeeter
(Fac ut vivas)
To: Ganymede; Eowyn-of-Rohan
Hi G. I don't know if you're black or not (I'm not, but my wife is), but Eowyn definitely has a point. Artificial hair styles continue to be a huge issue that divide black women. Hair like Beyonce's is definitely dyed and relaxed. In other words, she scalds her hair with a high-end lye to get the curl out. My mother-in-law is going bald at 55 after a lifetime of this deal. Afros are only one natural hair care option for blacks. Short hair, dreadlocks, and various kinds of braiding can all be done in a clean and healthy way.
To: Redbob
The issue of it being Grant's tomb should not be an issue anyway i.e. even though Jeffrey Dahmer is gone I still have enough respect for the dead not to dance on their grave.
54
posted on
07/14/2003 9:29:38 AM PDT
by
grumple
To: mgc1122
To be upset about this strikes me as ridiculous as our great grandchildren complaining about the inappropriateness of a brothel on Clintons tomb...
To: yankeedame
It's disgusting. A distasteful and insulting spectacle. The definition of "atrocity".
Whoever authorized this should be fired, and fired immediately.
Maybe they'll allow Christina Aguillera to slut all over Robert E. Lee's grave next...
To: Pharmboy
Grant wasn't a drunk and only an ignorant southerner would think he was. Try opening a book sometime before embarrassing yourself in by flaunting your ignorance in public.
To: Im Your Huckleberry
Britney Spears next year?
58
posted on
07/14/2003 9:47:12 AM PDT
by
ewing
To: gnarledmaw
To be upset about this strikes me as ridiculous as our great grandchildren complaining about the inappropriateness of a brothel on Clintons tomb...
Or an adult bookstore in the same presidential library ... ;)
59
posted on
07/14/2003 9:50:29 AM PDT
by
mgc1122
To: proust
I'm not rightly sure who is even burried in Grant's tomb.
60
posted on
07/14/2003 9:51:14 AM PDT
by
oyez
(Does Time-Warner suckorwhat?)
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