[...] Deena Alleyne, the 14 year old in the video and photos of Akon performing at Zen has given an interview to the Trinidad Express where she laments on her experience and discusses her future plans of casting aside hip hop and dancing for the Lord. [...]

I hope our young people, their parents and our local artistes draw some serious lessons from the Akon fiasco. The main lesson being: The World Is Watching You. For this is really a story about the power of the Internet.

Within hours of Akon’s performace, someone (possibly from Akon’s camp) had uploaded the now-controversial video to the website YouTube. By the end of the following day the video had been viewed some 40,000 times and had already generated hundreds of comments - nearly all of them overwhelming negative. Two days later, the video was voluntarily removed from YouTube - but it was too late. Hundreds of websites, including most of the prominent Hollywood gossip sites had already got hold of the footage. Multiple copies showed back up on YouTube. That coupled with the stories from the Trinidad press about the “fake dance contest” set the web ablaze.

Web forums and blogs the world over were filling rapidly with negative comments. Several described the dance sequence as nothing less than “simulated rape”. By the weekend, the girl’s identity was already being hinted at - thanks to various Trini websites and forums seemingly populated by her peers and classmates. Word was already spreading that the girl may have been as young as 14. That just added further fuel to the fire. There was a growing chorus of calls to have Akon prosecuted - many from people unaware of which part of the world the incident had taken place. People in every corner of the globe were commenting, sometimes viciously, on everything from the state of hip hop to child abuse to Caribbean culture to race and religion (Akon is Muslim apparently). Comparisons were already being made to R Kelly. Even those familiar with Trini “wining” agreed that what Akon did went far beyond the acceptable. Others said this is no different from what happens at Carnival or what other Trinidad and Jamaican entertainers have been known to do onstage. Coming on the heels of radio host Don Imus firing for racist comments and an Oprah Winfrey episode on misogynistic rap lyrics and behaviour, this was more ammo for the anti-hiphop crowd. The web is largely uncensored and the opinions and comments kept coming, fast and often furious. Openly racist remarks were being thrown about. Most relating to Akon’s African ancestry as well as the Caribbean’s alleged low moral standards. One remark has stayed in my mind:

“This was a Third World artist, performing to a Third World crowd in a Third World country. At least they weren’t hacking each other to death with machetes in a fit of genocidal rage - that’s what usually passes for entertainment in those parts.”

Then the pictures started showed up - most from the photo gallery at Triniscene.com. These raised even more questions about the girl’s age, attire and behaviour prior to the final sequence featured on the video. Also, people were starting to post links to the young lady’s Hi5 and Myspace pages. Both of which featured raunchy photos of the young lady as well as startlingly lewd comments from friends and would-be admirers. Suddenly she didn’t seem to be the innocent victim any more… especially as her MySpace page had her age as 19.

One week later, the girl’s identity and age were confirmed. She was 14. Her father, a pastor, claimed she was misled by Akon. Akon’s record company, the Universal Music Group moved rapidly to have the video removed from YouTube and other sites, citing “copyright infringement”. Rather strange considering they didn’t seem to have a problem with the hundreds of other Akon videos on YouTube.

By Friday, with still no comment from Akon, the girl issued a public apology. She was seemingly unaware that she is being seen worldwide as the victim of a possible vicious sexual assault. Interestingly, the Trinidad media seem to be not very web-savvy. Most mispelled her name (anyone paying attention to the web would have known the correct spelling) and seemed to be unaware of the firestorm of controversy being generated internationally. They have been calls for Akon to dropped from the upcoming Gwen Stefani tour; a planned collaboration with Michael Jackson in now in doubt (the child molestation jokes have started already). A lot of questions are being asked about the girl’s apparent lack of parental supervision.

This is far from over. A quick Google search this morning revealed some 220,000 websites referring to Akon’s Trinidad escapade. By evening, this had grown to 240,000. Right wing columnists such as Michele Malkin have already sunk their sharp teeth into the story. With the #2 record in the US and UK, Akon is too high-profile for this to disappear.

Unfortunately for the young lady in question, if you look closely at some of the photos from the night in question, nearly everyone has a cellphone or camera in their hand… I think we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg. Other young ladies, please take note…

However, maybe some good will come out of this after all. I finally came across an intelligent, thought-provoking comment from someone calling themselves “Angry Feminist” on the Dlisted web board:

Just a minute….

I think its really interesting that most people on this post are so quick to call a 14 year old child a “slut,” a “whore,” and a “ho”. This girl, it seems, has grown up with very little supervision and even fewer boundaries - each of which was further colored by a media culture that teaches girls that the easiest route to acceptance and empowerment is exhibitionism and flagrant sexuality. Is it any wonder she’s dry humping Akon on stage?

Sorry folks, but maybe instead of being so quick to blame a fourteen year old (who, regardless of her actions, is still developmentally 14 - her brain lacks the adult capacity for impulse control) we should start blaming ourselves (me included). Society is teaching little girls everyday that sex is the route to success - from buying magazines prominently featuring Paris Hilton to buying CDs whose lyrics are misogynistic and sexually explicit - we’ve endorsed and sanctioned its message with our dollars.

I think that girls…definitely knew what she was getting herself into…I think aswell her Father shows a very poor parent.She is such an ASS for a young girl…Stuipd,Foolish & Disgraceful is what I say she is.

dis girl…….deena alleyne was outa she rite mind 2 go dere

This gal real STUPID…..watch the pictures she is on top of him is some… god people real DOTISH!!!!

Okay, the way she dressed into Club Zen for
a 14 year old is already unappropriate. She
says that she went there with a few of
her friends.

She should know better. Giving her father the respect
that he IS A PATOR? She wants to live for the Lord?
God don’t want nobody dressing like that, and going into clubs…. UNDERAGE! She smiled in pictures k?
And Akon didn’t rape her. K? Akon has his bad side
too because even if she WAS old enough to be there
it is still disgusting to what he did to the girl anyway.

Whatever though. It shows another video of Deena dancing at another club, underage … AFTER the CLUB ZEN INCIDENT. She doesn’t know when to stop, and don’t know the difference between right and wrong. She needs to grow up! If she does like to dance than go dance professional. Don’t shake your ass all over the place. Nobody wanna see it.

Peace.