Concert goers are outraged and demanding an apology after a lewd sex act was done live on stage. Photo / Instagram
Concert goers are outraged and demanding an apology after a lewd sex act was done live on stage. Photo / Instagram
The Christchurch venue where US hip-hop band Pretty Ricky sparked outrage for simulating a lewd sex act live on stage with a female audience member has apologised to gig-goers and said the group won't be asked back.
Fans walked out of Saturday night's Pretty Ricky concert at The Bedford venue when the show turned "pornographic".
Dr Abby Suszko, who was in the front row, said their group immediately left when they saw what was happening.
"We were basically subjected to something that was quite pornographic and it just made me feel sick, and wrong."
Fellow gig-goer Matiu Workman said that after the woman was picked out of the crowd, she was subsequently told by one of the Pretty Ricky band members "no matter what happens, do not close your legs".
Pretty Ricky performing in Christchurch. Photo / Supplied
He said it made his group feel extremely uncomfortable, and said "this behaviour is totally unacceptable and objectifies women whilst normalising graphic, sexual acts".
Mr Workman vowed to lay complaints with the promoter.
"We've left feeling pretty empty, pretty hollow, very disgusted and disappointed."
Sam King, who sold tickets to the Christchurch show, said there was "absolutely no lewd act at all".
The female audience member asked on stage is a friend of his, he said.
She was "consenting" to being chosen for the on-stage antics, Mr King said.
He said the woman would've "walked off stage if she did not want this to happen".
"Every single girl in there was screaming for it to happen to them but only one got chosen," said Mr King.
"Pato Entertainment put on a full blown New Zealand tour with people that I and most of the world grew up listening to."
However, Wendy Alfeld, director of The Bedford at CPIT, apologised to fans today.
Although she didn't see what happened, she wasn't happy by the tone of the show and also felt offended.
She said the group won't be asked back after the actions and low tickets sales.
The head of Tauranga-based company Pato Entertainment, which bought Pretty Ricky to New Zealand for four concerts - in Auckland, Rotorua, Wellington and Christchurch - denied any offence was caused.
Pato Alvarez said all he saw that night was a girl being given a lap-dance on stage and nothing more.
Up to a hundred people turned out for the Pretty Ricky concert. Photo / Instagram
Comments on social media indicate the band did a similar "lapdance" at its Auckland gig, at Stampede Bar in Papakura.
One concert-goer said she and her sister both got lapdances from Pretty Ricky, and wanted to know if the bar had any footage of it so they could share it online.
"My sister and I had a fantastic time!!" she said on Facebook. "So did a lot of my friends that I saw there."
Another woman on the bar's Facebook page, Suzy Field, said she was jealous of the women who got a lapdance from the band members.
"Dayum, who were the lucky b***ches that got a lap dance," she said.
However, one woman Teza Ariki, said she thought the act was "abit rude".
Pretty Ricky is a four piece hip hop and R&B band from Miami, Florida, made up of brothers Baby Blue, Spectacular, Slick'em and Pleasure P.
Who are Pretty Ricky?
Pretty Ricky is an American hip hop and R&B band, made up of brothers Baby Blue, Spectacular, Slick'em and Pleasure P.
The four piece are from Miami, Florida.
The original line-up, including Pleasure P, played the band's New Zealand shows. It comes after Pleasure P, real name Marcus Cooper, left the band in 2007 to embark on a solo career.
He was replaced by 4Play and Lingerie, until he returned to the band earlier this year.
It's not the first time the band has hit the headlines for the wrong reasons.
In July 2010 a viral video showing Slick'em snorting Cocaine was released.
And in March 2012 one person was killed and four others injured when a fight broke out after a solo concert by Pleasure P in Wichita, Kansas.
In 2009 Pleasure P's attempts to make a solo name for himself were marred by child molestation accusations, after the daughter of a Florida lawyer claimed her father had been hired by the rapper to "cover it up".
She claimed he was kicked out of the group because "he was hiding that he was a child molester", and hired her father to "keep it quiet so he could get a record deal", reported Clutch magazine at the time.
The group confirmed at the time that Pleasure P was kicked out, saying "he did not leave on his own free will".
However, Pleasure P denied the accusations, describing them as maliciously fake, and saying they were "all lies", according to Vibe.com.
In 2014 he told Bossip.com the rumours were "not true".
NZ's biggest rap concert controversies
Ice-T, 1992 When gangsta rapper Ice-T visited Auckland in 1992 Police Commissioner John Jamieson wanted him banned after the US controversy over his sideline metal group Body Count's song Cop Killer. He still played - Cop Killer wasn't in his hip-hop set. He came back in 1993 and 1995 with Body Count and played Cop Killer both times. Ice-T now plays a cop on television show SVU.
Black Eyed Peas, 2001 A pre-Fergie Black Eyed Peas were scheduled to perform at the 2001 Big Day Out. Only Apl.de.Ap didn't make it into the country after being found 3.7 grams of cannabis at Auckland Airport. Police reportedly used their discretion to give him a warning and, after referring him to immigration officials, he was put on a plane back to the United States. The other two members of the BEPs performed the show without him.
Beenie Man, 2010 Jamaican singer Beenie Man was scheduled to perform at the 2010 Big Day Out, but had his performance pulled after an outcry over lyrics that included, "I'm dreaming of a new Jamaica, come to execute all the gays". Despite saying he had renounced those sentiments, the Big Day Out still pulled his performance because of "the depth of feeling and hurt amongst these groups ... would be divisive among our audience members and would mar the enjoyment of the event for many".
Tiki Taane, 2011 The former member of Salmonella Dub was performing in Tauranga in July when, after covering NWA's controversial hit F*** the Police, he was, "arrested, handcuffed, walked through the crowd and thrown in jail for the night". He was charged with disorderly conduct, but the charge was dropped after mediation with police.
Tyler, the Creator, 2014 Controversial Los Angeles rap crew Odd Future, led by Tyler, the Creator, were on the bill to perform before Eminem at the Rapture festival at Western Springs. Immigration didn't let them in the country, deeming the group "a potential threat to public order and the public interest for several reasons, including incidents at past performances in which they have incited violence". Tyler, the Creator has since been banned from performing in Australia and the UK.
