Erykah Badu's Naked 'Window Seat' Shoot 'Shocks' Dallas City Councilman
Dallas City Councilman Dwaine Caraway knows Erykah Badu, and he's always been impressed by the Texas native's philanthropic ventures and support of D-town causes. But Caraway had to shake his head when news broke that one of the city's favorite daughters ran buck naked down the streets of downtown while filming the viral Molotov cocktail that is her "Window Seat" video.
"I'm a fan and personally know Erykah, and she's a trooper here for our city," Caraway said. "However, governing the city as we are expected to, it was not the right choice to go and perform the video as it was performed." Despite his praise for her civic pride and engagement, Caraway — the man behind the local "Pull 'Em Up" campaign to stop sagging pants — said he and fellow City Council members were definitely taken aback by Badu's permit-free guerrilla action on St. Patrick's Day.
"There should have been a permit issued for the filming," he said. "Had there been a permit, then certain boundaries would have come into play and it wouldn't be such outright shock." Dallas Police told MTV News that had Badu's actions been observed by one of their officers, she might have faced both a $4,000 fine and up to a year in jail, a sentence the video's directors said she was more than willing to deal with in order to get her message across.
But, because no officer witnessed the naked shoot, no charges are likely to be filed, and Caraway said no sanction will be forthcoming from the Council because no complaints have been lodged over the incident from witnesses. The councilman hasn't reached out to Badu to speak to her about the stunt, but he said once his fellow council members are back from spring break next week, he expects some vigorous debate about the video.
"I'm sure something will come up for discussion, and there will be some talk about changing the rules and putting some preventatives in place, and I'm certain something will come from it," Caraway said.
That said, given the worldwide attention "Window Seat" has garnered, Caraway figured that the video accomplished what Badu set out to in terms of hyping the release of her new album, New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh). "It's a win-win for her," he said. "Even if we were to fine her a million dollars, she'll probably make $200 million."
Wednesday, March 31, 2010 at 8:08PM
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