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October 12, 2007
Beenie Man was never sued by church for video footage
By: Joseph Cunningham
A hearing in the Supreme Court yesterday afternoon revealed that dancehall superstar Moses Davies, more popularly known as Beenie Man was never sued by the St. Andrew Parish Church located in Jamaica.
"The real purpose of the hearing was to ensure that the controversial footage in the video was handed over to the courts and as such alleviate any possibility of it being broadcast" explained Danielle Desulme, producer of the footage in the video titled "These Streets." "That is what happened and the issue is now resolved," she expounded.
Controversy has abounded since the St. Andrew Parish Church filed an injunction barring the broadcast of footage in the video which had been shot at a grave yard on the church compound. According to Desulme, the church had issues with the footage being aired after they had made the initial injunction. However, she explained that, "The real cause was not that the video production team had ignored the churches request, but instead it was that neither Beenie Man nor persons close to him had received a copy of the injunction on time, neither were they informed of the injunction at that point. It was a case of miscommunication on our part."
Ras Tingle, the video director later told Yardflex that he had tried to get in touch with authorities at the church but was unsuccessful. "I tried to get in touch with Major Serranno Kittson, a member of the board of executives on the Friday, which was the day before the deadline for the video to be shot. I did not get through to him and at that stage we were pressed for time."
Tingle stated that he had no intention to desecrate the noble institution, and had actually developed a concept to display statistics of youths who die because of violence. He said it was thought that having a familiar grave yard in the background would have added a very effective emotional connection with viewers.
Regardless, Desulme views the incident as a lesson learnt, and apologizes for any discomforts caused.