Whitney Houston Tribute At 'Billboard Music Awards'
'Celebrity Apprentice' Finale: Who Got Hired?
By Karu F. Daniels, AOL Black Voices
Eddie Griffin experienced a real "n-word" wake-up call when his raunchy comedy act came to a screeching halt last weekend in Miami.
The 'Undercover Brother' star was booked as the main headliner for Friday night's line-up at the Black Enterprise/Pepsi 14th Annual Golf & Tennis Challenge.
The pint-sized, loud-mouthed funnyman's profanity, racial-slur-laced tirade didn't go over too well with the family friendly sold out audience.
Griffin turned out to be the ultimately show-stopper, literally, when his microphone suddenly "failed" after repeatedly using the 'N-Word.'
Soon after his abrupt silencing, Black Enterprise magazine owner and publisher Earl Graves, came on stage with the plug in his hand and said: "We at Black Enterprise will not allow our culture to go backwards. Black Enterprise stands for decency, black culture and dignity and we will pay Mr. Griffin all that we owe him but we will not allow him to finish the show if that's the way he's going to talk."
Whoa. Talk about theatrics.
Graves received a standing ovation from the sold-out audience, including Rev. Al Sharpton, who preached at the event the following day and applauded Mr. Graves for his strong stance on behalf of Black people.
Black Enterprise spokesperson Andrew Wadium did confirm that Griffins's show was cut short, citing "language restrictions," but did not go into much further detail.
A request for comment from Graves was declined.
Sharpton, on the other hand, didn't hold back in sharing his thoughts with The BV Newswire today. "I was proud and grateful that Earl Graves, Sr. stood up for our people and his readers by pulling the plug on comedian Eddie Griffin who repeatedly used the "N" word at his performance at the Black Enterprise-Pepsi Challenge over Labor Day weekend in Miami."
"It signified that we at National Action Network are not alone in the fight to end the demeaning and racist language that has allowed our people to aid in their own victimization for years," Sharpton, , on the frontlines for the voice of the disenfranchised for the past two decades, continued. "In any other community there are organizations that stand up for the rights of the people such as the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) that monitors the insensitivity and racism against the Jewish community, and my group is no exception."
"In the same way that no comedian or entertainer would get up and call a Jewish person out of their name without their being outrage, we will not allow black people to be demeaned by our own people," Sharpton maintained. "Eddie Griffin has the right to say what he wants to say, but we have the right to protest what he says and will hold everyone to these same standards. I have nothing personal against Mr. Griffin but I will continue to fight tirelessly to end the indecency that is setting us back a hundred years."
"My daughter Dominique was in the audience that night and called me and said 'Dad I witnessed history in the making today" and when she relayed what happened to me I was content that our efforts have not been in vain."
A rep for Griffin could not be reached by deadline.
BV EXTRA: In case you missed it, read all about Rev. Sharpton's war of words with rap lyricist David Banner.
Comments: (267)
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By: Evangeline on 9/10/2007 8:45AM
Bill Cosby is speaking the truth concerning how some black parents are raising their children--I see it everyday and this needs to be turned around for the positive as soon as possible. Further, Bill Cosby is not an Uncle Tom according to the definition in the American Heritage Dictionary which states, "Uncle Tom n.Offensive A Black person who is regarded as being humiliatingly subservient or deferential to white people." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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By: Marcel on 12/23/2007 11:31AM
I am glad that Earl Graves “pulled the plug” and it is unfortunate that Eddie Griffin had to bare this type of embarrassment. Honestly, I believe that if Griffin was that good of a comedian, he should have been sharp enough to read the crowd and determine which jokes were kosher and which were too off-color. But, I have no intention of placing all of the blame on Eddie Griffin. Whoever was responsible for inviting Eddie to perform should have taken into account the type of person Eddie is and the type of jokes he has comparative advantage in telling. Also, the host who invited Eddie to perform had a fiduciary duty to inform Eddie of the expected behavior, the general type of individuals in the audience, and the overall motivation of for bringing him in to perform.
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By: Mocha319 on 9/10/2007 6:28PM
I guess the lesson that should be learned here is: "research the person you are hiring for your event".
How ignorant they looked pulling the mic on someone they hired to headline.
Also how very unprofessional to treat a very well known & liked professional comedian like Eddie Griffin. All he was doing is the job he was hired to do.
I can only imagine how humiliated he must have been when they cut his act and asked him to leave.It just goes to show that some black folks are still not ready, no matter what their station in life.
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By: Anthony O. Vann on 9/11/2007 10:02AM
We can't expect others to respect us, if we can't respect ourselves.
www.Noirefashions.com
www.Noireproductions.com
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By: Desmond on 9/11/2007 3:33PM
I am truly happy about the actions of Mr. Graves, but I would be even happier if much more publicity was given to the incedent. How can we expect our children to do the right thing and not follow along with their friends when they use such language if we as adults and public figures sit back and condone it. Also, this would have a more positive effect if a bigger deal was made about it. It could be a tool for communicating (to our children) the severity of the negative effects associated with using such language and behavior.
"WILL THE REAL BLACK MEN PLEASE STAND UP!?!"
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By: FOROD GILLESPIE on 9/11/2007 7:02PM
Well I can understand how some people feel about the "N" word and I respect that, but on the other hand the way Mr. Graves went about it I believe was wrong. If Eddie Griffin could not use words like the "N" word, then that should of been explained in his contract and / or before the show even started. I got to agree with most people who left a comment, that is one main word that Eddie use while he dose a show. Did any one that was there get up and walk out because he was using the "N" word? No, because if they did then it would of been mention in the story. I don't care what they try to do to clean it up, it's always going to be out here. If you really think about it, a lot of comedian's jokes are about (white people / black people). The only different is that a black comedian will say words like "cracker ect ect" but you can't really find a white comedian say "nigger". If the respect was all around then maybe there would be a chance to clean it up, but like I said "it's always going to be somebody out here that's going to disrespect the other". I'm a black man and I use the "N" word toward other black people, but you got to also understand that every black man out here was raise on the "N" word and that's one reason why they use it so much. Can't no black man out here say "they never called another black man a niggar", not even Mr. Graves or Al Sharpton. I believe black people has they own meaning for the "N" word and it's nothing like what the white man meaning was or is. But back to my man Eddie Griffin, I understand how Mr. Graves felt but like I said "he went about it the wrong way". He did not have to embarrass Eddie like that and if Eddie wasn't internationally known he probably would had slapped Mr. Graves ass for embarrassing him on stage in front of his fans like that........
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By: younger on 10/30/2007 7:55PM
Eddie use the "N" word too much. After a while it's sickening to hear it. Eddie is a very funny man. I like him. I know it would be hard for him to stop using it but for sure he need to cut it down.
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