Erykah Badu's "Window Seat" Video May Prompt Tougher Laws

By: Edecio Martinez
Topics: Daily Blotter

Erykah Badu in her controversial new video for "Window Seat." (ErykahBadu.com)

DALLAS (CBS/AP) Officials in Dallas remain upset about Erykah Badu's controversial music video for her song "Window Seat."

PICTURES: Erykah Badu "Window Seat" Controversy

Though she hasn't be charged with a crime for getting naked on a downtown street, officials are considering strengthening their laws to prevent any future "artistic statements" in a similar vein.

The music video shows Badu walking and stripping naked on the street where President John Kennedy was assassinated.

In it, Badu walks in front of the Texas School Book Depository - where the shots that killed Kennedy were fired from. She strips as she walks down the street, and is "shot down" - totally nude - not far from the spot where the fatal bullet struck Kennedy.

On her Twitter feed, Badu says the video was "shot guerrilla style" - that is, without the permits that are usually required to do a video on a city street.

Dwaine Caraway, chairman of the Dallas City Council's Public Safety Committee, is considering tougher penalties for people who produce video for a profit in the city without the proper permits, according to the Dallas Morning News.

"None of this would have occurred had she stayed clothed," Caraway said to the paper. "But since she didn't, it elevated the need for making sure that we have policies in place that will protect folks and the integrity of the city as best we possibly can."

A spokesman for the city says if guerrilla crews are found out, they'd face arrest and or penalties.

MORE ON CRIMESIDER
March 31, 2010 - Erykah Badu Strips in New Video: Could Have Landed Singer a Year in Jail, Say Police
March 29, 2010 - Erykah Badu Window Seat Video: Is Her Stripping Illegal or Just in Poor Taste?

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by anothaEB April 8, 2010 9:20 PM EDT: Would u believe that in the State of Texas, it is TOTALLY legal for a woman to walk down the street topless?? That has been law since the 1980s thanks to the late Barbra Jordan (look it up).

This is not an issue of a black artist at a white leaders memorial. Kennedy, like MLK, worked for AMERICANS -- mankind, even. Remember, we are all here with the right to be, and the right to make political statements such as this one. Now, personally, I didn't really get this one. Why JFK site? Maybe she was speaking on the trend-of-the-many to murder (assassinate, cut down) those few who have found themselves 'evolving' back into our higher selves -- stripped away of the things that make us "civilized". Or maybe see was just trying to get a discount on a Southwest Airlines.
Go EB!; Reply to this comment


by anothaEB April 8, 2010 9:14 PM EDT: Would u believe that in the State of Texas, it is TOTALLY legal for a woman to walk down the street topless?? That has been law since the 1980s thanks to the late Barbra Jordan (look it up).

This is not an issue of a black artist at a white leaders memorial. Kennedy, like MLK, worked for AMERICANS -- mankind, even. Remember, we are all here with the right to be, and the right to make political statements such as this one. Now, personally, I didn't really get this one. Why JFK site? Maybe she was speaking on the trend-of-the-many to murder (assassinate, cut down) those few who have found themselves 'evolving' back into our higher selves -- stripped away of the things that make us "civilized". Or maybe see was just trying to get a discount on a Southwest Airlines.
Go EB!; Reply to this comment


by James_Guilford April 5, 2010 3:29 PM EDT: From body image and blackness, to self-actualization and self-expression, Erykah Badu's Window Seat video makes a series of political statements. Many articles have referred to Badu's video as a "stunt" or a "strip tease," but there is nothing gimmicky or sexual about EB's Window Seat video. Instead, we see a raw, make-up free, un-manicured woman stepping out of her clothes and, metaphorically, out of society's boxes. Only those who fail to look beyond the surface would call Badu's video a strip tease. The charges brought against EB are ironic considering the video and song are about allegations and persecution.; Reply to this comment

by jschmidt27 April 4, 2010 10:53 AM EDT

skyowner- I think the problem was because the incident happened on the street JFK was killed. For those of us who lived through it is still a sacred moment in history and this was definitely in poor taste. Typical rapper in your face action. Where do you draw the line on what is acceptable?

Reply to this comment


by anothaEB April 8, 2010 9:17 PM EDT: I think u TOO caught up with making the death of a man a SACRED thing. What's so sacred about the street where something like murder-assassination occurred? The art is that in her moment of 'evolution' she was gunned down (like JFK). Get a clue


by wtcmedicdidntforget April 4, 2010 10:14 AM EDT: seriously, how can any of you defend this action? we dont need or desire to see her naked. if i take a dump on a new paper can i call it art? the same here.; Reply to this comment


by skyowner April 3, 2010 9:22 PM EDT: What a load of...

There are wars going on, murders committed, etc etc

And this is a big priority? A woman who dressed down to the way god intended her to make an artistic statement? Don't these guys realize that the children who were 'hurt' by seeing a naked woman were actually born naked themselves?

Come on Dallas, grow up.; Reply to this comment