Friday, April 9, 2010

Cheetah Girl Gone Wild



I get it: It's never been an easy fete for a child star to make the transition into adult (working) actor, right? I mean, Hollywood Blvd is littered with the broken careers of people who were a very big deal when they were cute and short and smoochy and all, but became about as relevant as a snowsuit on Waikiki Beach the moment puberty hit. (I'm looking at you, Gary Coleman. And you, too, Todd Bridges, Danny Bonaduce, Scott Baio, Tina Yothers, Jaleel White, Corey Haim and Macaulay Culkin. Alla y'all.) So if you were hot at 10, you better figure out how to sizzle at 20, or get real comfortable in the tight, itchy mall security outfit.

One can only guess that this is what singer/actress Kiely Williams of The Cheetah Girls fame was thinking when she poured herself into some sparkly hot pants, pulled out her best stripper moves, and got to extolling the virtues of drunk, unprotected, random sex in her new, decidedly adult single, "Spectacular." Check it:

Last I remember I was face down
Ass up, clothes off, broke off, dozed off
Even though I'm not sure of his name
He could get it again if he wanted
Cause the sex was spectacular
The sex was spectacular (yeaaah)
The sex was spectacular
The sex was spectacular


Uh huh. There's more:

You can say what you want but
You can call me a slut but
What he did to me last night felt so good
I must have been on drugs
I hope he used a rubber
Or I'mma be in trouble
Promise I don't remember
Except for rolling over


DEAD. FISH. EYES.

This is the same little girl who starred in The Cheetah Girls movie series—the trio of hugely popular Disney flicks that encouraged little girls to value friendship, follow their dreams, and embrace girl power. My daughters love those movies—so much so that when the second and third Cheetah Girls movies debuted on the Disney Channel, we had our own little Cheetah Girls parties to celebrate. My girls own all three movies, know all the dance moves, their iPods are stuffed with Cheetah Girls music, and they absolutely adore the books, written by our friend Deborah Gregory. And though the flicks have been around for a few years, to this day, whenever they're on TV, Mari and Lila watch them like it's their first time seeing them.

Sooo... how do you go from the fun and super innocent, "The Party's Just Begun" to "ass up, clothes off, broke off" and "I hope he used a rubber or Imma be in trouble?" And, even more, how is it even remotely okay to put an ode to drunk sex—which to a grown ass woman works overtime to condone and damn-near encourage men liquoring up women so they can get uncommitted, raw random booty without too much of a fight (in a court of law, this is called DATE RAPE)—up on a site that little girls visit on the regular? YES! The girl put the video on her website, KielysWorld.com—the same place where she gives (surprisingly good) video advice to young girls. How, exactly, am I suppose to explain "Spectacular" to, say, Mari, at age 11? Because really, it wouldn't be too far out of the realm for Mari to Google this fool, land on what she and I would think is a safe site, and end up getting an eye- and ear-full of mess my 11-year-old isn't ready to see or hear and I'm not ready to explain.

Thanks, Kiely. Way to educate the kids.

Now Kiely released a video statement HERE claiming that she was simply telling a story—one that's familiar to 20-something's everywhere. Girls go out, get drunk, and sometimes sleep with guys they don't know. "I wrote 'Spectacular' and made the video to bring attention to a serious women's health and safety issue. Please don't shoot the messenger,” she added.

Right.

So singing about how "spectacular" it is to have drunk, unprotected sex with a random dude who's name she doesn't know is a public service announcement? For what? The quickest way to get HIV? Raped? Pregnant? Called a ho?

Thanks, girl. Good lookin' out for my girls. Just the message they need.

Um, so look: If this is how we stay relevant these days, Kiely, go for it: Get your edgy, wanna-be Lady Gaga on, do the Beyonce half-naked booty pop, rip out your soul and lay it at the altar of a Timbaland Euro beat—do what you can to keep the kitchen cabinets stocked with something other than Ramen Noodles. But really, girl: Leave the babies out of it. At least have the decency to admit the song sucks, the message sucks harder, and you just did it to avoid having to kick rocks for the rest of your life.

And then go kick rocks.


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31 comments:

  1. I couldn't even finish this video. It's really sad for her.

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  2. That was the biggest steaming pile of crap I've ever seen. And I'm a young 20 something. Hell, there isn't a something at the end of my 20 yet! It's horrible that she posted the video her site knowing that she has a bunch young girls as her primary audience. The fact that she made this song at all is horrifying. She is glamorizing something that has ruined people's lives. There are enough STDs and unwanted babies that are the result of this very behavior. Who is she to speak for me and the rest of my peers? She can go kick rocks and eat dirt.

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  3. Horrible. I'm so over the Hollywood mentality of "get rich or die trying" with no ethics. They have set women's rights back to the Neanderthals.

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  4. I'm soo sad for her. She is reaching and my girls love the Cheetah Girls! I'm so shocked at "how low" she has sank.. and because she can't speak with a clear mind or have the sense to be ashamed.....I'm emabarassed for her.."smh"!
    Not looking forward to this conversation w/ my 9 and 6 year old.

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  5. Ummm...I am near speechless. I thought the lyrics of the song alone were bad, but the video is worse. And this chick seriously posted it at her website?

    I know this much...no little girl in my house will be looking at that site anytime soon. My daughter likes the Cheetah Girls movies, but my nieces LOVE them. Between this video and the nude pic scandal from one of the other girls, it's safe to say I'll be avoiding these movies at all costs, lest my 4-year-old starts calling them her "favorites." AND I'll be blocking KielysWorld.com on every computer in the house. This is just ridiculous.

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  6. You get tired of saying "What were they thinking" but better yet I can't help but wonder who convinced them "Oh yeah, the public will LOVE this". I understand wanting to break free of the Cheetah Girl image/persona but this is not the way to do it.

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  7. Oh man, my heart is breaking for this girl after watching that video. She looks like she's a porn star making a video. All I kept on hearing was "the sex was so good" REALLY! I was just cursing 2 days ago that I'm tired of the oversexualization of our children when I went to buy a demin skirt for my almost 3 yrs old and couldn't find one that was not riding up her little thighs. Then this, add a next worry to my list. I can't get mad at her though, I have Beyonce and Lady Gaga on my ipod, some of my best workout come's from listening to those two. I'm sad, what do I do, does this mean if I'm banning her that I have to ban Beyonce too??? Help!!!

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  8. I think the point of the video is missing. I don't think she was glorifying what she was doing in this video but yet making a point. In a follow up video on her youtube page she states,

    "I am playing a character in the music video for the song Spectacular, as I did in the Cheetah Girl movies. Young women across the country get intoxicated and have unprotected sex. That's a fact. I recorded the song to bring attention to this frighteningly prevalent activity. It is absurd to infer or suggest that I am condoning this behaviour."


    Soo maybe this was supposed to be a P.S.A. If the director would've put more thought in to that her message would've came across a little more clear. I understand the outrage but I also get the message. A lot of girls go out on weekends and this is their fate, they down a lot of drinks and have unprotected sex with a random person. A lot of times people don't see how ridiculous their actions are until somebody shows them.

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  9. Say it ain't so Kiely! I remember when she was kicked out of the girl group 3LW for being too wholesome. I was so proud that she didn't sell out her values back then. It's sad that she felt the need to do this now.

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  10. She needs a *church "peench"* in the worst way. Really, Kiely? Really?

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  11. Really, really, hoping my girls haven't seen this video. After reading the Hip Hop Dad's comment the PSA should be right at the beginning of the video because this isn't screaming PSA at all.

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  12. I lost consciousness after she said something about ripping a track out while he blew her back out. Eye roll head shake, double antacid on the rocks, please...

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  13. @Hip Hop Dad: Totally hear what you're saying, but Kiely's "PSA" explanation didn't come until well after folks went in hard on her for making the song/video. And really, no one is going to see her explanation; they're only going to hear the song and see the video, neither of which ever makes reference to having drunk sex as a bad thing. In fact, the name of the song is "Spectacular," and the chorus—her words, not mine—is "The sex was spectacular!" She's not saying "ohmigod, what did I do?" or "jeez, how did I get myself into that mess?" or "shoot, I wish that didn't happen and next time I REALLY have to be more careful." She's saying, I met some guy at the bar and he said he had a big package and so I got drunk, blacked out (presumably from being drunk) and had unprotected sex with him—and damn, I don't know his name even but he could get it again. Nothing about those lyrics or sentiment says, "Whoa, girls—cautionary tale." The song SCREAMS "this was a GREAT thing and ain't I naughty and grown?"

    Again, if this is the way she chooses to portray herself, cool—she's grown. I don't have to listen to it. But my kids, who still think she's the bees knees and could very well end up on her website because it is geared toward kids, NOT grown-ups, might just end up seeing this video there. And as a mother, I'm appealing to her to remember who her audience is. If she's looking for an older audience, she could put it on a different site. May I suggest KielysSmutWorld?

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  14. I understand her need to transition in her career and change her image (a la Janet Jackson). BUT it's a little overboard...the lyrics, stripper moves, posting it to a kid-friendly site...Seeing the lil cheetah "all grown up" like that IS a bit much. Baby steps Kiely. She should want her fans to grow WITH her, not RUN from her!

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  15. @BLACKswan: EXACTLY! Remember the kid singing groups from back in the day? Take for instance New Edition: They'd done at least three albums (including the Christmas one) before Bobby went off and did his solo/sexual chocolate album. I distinctly remember being too young to go to a New Edition concert by myself, but being old enough to go to Bobby B's concert with just my friends when My Prerogative dropped. I grew WITH Bobby, he wasn't dragging me along before my time. How you go from Disney to "ass up" is beyond me...

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  16. This is what happens when you have good intentions but your execution is terrible. Proper planning prevents piss poor performance. This could've been a real educational and "real" piece.

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  17. @The Hip-Hop Dad: Without question. Epic fail on her part, for sure.

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  18. A pure mess!! You gotta it...she should start kickin those rocks!! What a disaster!

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  19. This was totally disgusting. It really can't be cleaned up. Her motive comes through the lyrics, her clothing her provacative movements. If she really wanted to teach she could have started in the beginning, only allowed it on her site, with a discussion afterward. This is showing where our music has taken our children. We really need a voice to stop this, it is so out of hand.

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  20. If she wants to pretend that she's just telling a story and expressing what happens to young ladies, why not at the end why not put up a PSA about not letting this happen to you/AIDS message. This whole song glorifies this behavior, not just story telling and leaves no room for saving grace. Messenger. Shot.

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  21. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  22. Soooo, I'm still stuck at the fact that this is the final draft of this song. Whoever wrote this decided that "ah-ah-ah-ah-aaaah", as well as the 6 other words that comprise the entire whispery, non-singing "song" were "keepers" should be publicly flogged.

    I have daughters, so this is definitely disturbing from the perspective of a once-disney icon, but my kids barely watch Disney in our house, and though the influence is still there (friends, grandparents, etc.), I'm equally disturbed at the sheer lack of anything remotely palatable by way of song lyrics, video concept, dance moves, wardrobe, ...and the list goes on. If you're trying to make a name for yourself, I'm no record exec, but I'm thinking the name NOT be UNORIGINAL/LAME CHIC! This.sucks. Period.

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  23. Oh, and as for this being a PSA-type joint to send a message...rrriiiight! Yep, just like each time I eat 7 brownies back to back, what I'm really doing is sacrificing my body as an example of what NOT to do when you want to stay healthy. Yep, Kiely and I are simply misunderstood.

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  24. I can definitely agree with you all here. I'm a teenager, so honestly, it wasn't long ago that I was one of her fans. I used to enjoy the Cheetah Girls music. But after watching this video and reading those lyrics, I, too, am wondering where all of those values embedded in the Cheetah songs went! What has happened to her?!

    Lakeisha
    http://livinwithlakeisha.blogspot.com

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  25. very disturbing that she has this on her kid-friendly site...and damn if the song and the video don't both suck...talk about small talent meets poor production...where is her manager? who's advising her? heads need to roll behind this decision...She goes right into the Imma-play-a-ho-to-get-mo-dough category - the trash. Unless she does a 180 or goes gospel (probably not with those sorry Meeting-In-The-Ladies-Room vocals), there's no need for me & mine to ever see or support her. My child is 3, so I'm afraid of where we'll be in a few years when she's surfing the Net. All I can say is, God Bless her with some common sense - please.

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  26. This is a joke right? This young lady couldn't be serious. The lyrics and the video are utterly ridiculous. It's a shame because she's really a pretty girl who has apparently received one break. She should've remained selective; I'm sure her big break would've come again eventually.

    This is why I have so much respect for Regina King. She's managed to keep it together after all of these years without such foolishness.

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  27. She makes Royce of the Basketball Housewives seem TAME!!! SHAMEFUL!!! Loved your commentary, Deneen. Hope all's well with you and your beautiful family.

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  28. Thank you for writing this. Some friends and I have started a Open Letter Campaign to "talk back" to Kiely and her manager, Tse Williams. We are encouraging viewers to write thoughtful responses like yours (not hate mail) to Ninelivesent@gmail.com.

    Please see my blog for more info on how to get involved. We are working with several poets, filmmakers and artists to produce alternative messages to "Spectacular" and this is the first of several "open letter" efforts. http://nualacabral.wordpress.com/2010/04/11/open-letter-to-kiely-williams/

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