Cee-Lo flips bird, drops F-bomb at Obama fundraiser
AP photo
Cee-Lo Green’s infectious chart-topping song “(Blank) You” can’t be played in its original form on FM stations and it can’t be quoted exactly in a family newspaper. But it can be played at a presidential fundraiser, evidently.
Here’s a link to a video clip of Green dropping the F-bomb and giving the one-finger salute during a Friday fundraiser in Atlanta for President Barack Obama. Obama had a number of fundraising stops here that day, and was not present during Green’s time on stage. The AJC did have a reporter at the event but he also did not witness the performance as reporters were held in a separate location at the time. A pool reporter who was granted access to the room said he was not close enough to the stage to hear clearly.
The video clip is pretty clear, though. On commercial airwaves Green’s song has been rendered into the more family-friendly “Forget You,” but the clip shows him launching into the unedited version.
The artist exuberantly previewed his performance ahead of time, tweeting: “ATL is FIRED UP for President Barack Obama tonight! I’m performing, Tyler Perry (is) hosting. You in for #Obama2012?”
But after his unedited version of the song, a fellow tweeter scolded, ”You have no class at all, very disrespectful tonight. #TheVoice should be ashamed of you right now.”
(Green’s repertoire now includes a role on the reality show “The Voice.”)
Green tweeted in response, “Well (they’re) not!” and added, “it was a mistake sir.” But he didn’t seem too broken up, going on to tweet, “All of you heard the song a thousand times so don’t get all saint on me.”
Green’s Twitter profile photo is a cartoon rendition of him standing strategically in front of his controversial lyrics.
Do you think the performance was in poor taste, or was he simply exercising his First Amendment rights?
- Jennifer Brett/The Buzz
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309 comments Add your comment
KimZ'sPackage
March 19th, 2012
5:15 pm
WE THE PEOPLE (THE TAX PAYERS) OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA elect a president every four years.
No We the people do not elect the president. You were Government School Educated. I bet you think the USA is a Democracy too. The Electoral College elects the President.
Momma G
March 19th, 2012
5:16 pm
Yes, I am very embarrassed — being a person of color. This man is grown and very disrespectful. He should be ashamed of himself. He is too old for this type of behavior.
Kyle
March 19th, 2012
5:16 pm
Cee Lo did a fantastic job at the fundraiser……this is one of his best songs and it’s been out like 2 years now. For anyone who disagrees I dedicate that song to you. I was at the event and I didn’t even notice the finger. No big deal at the end of the day….Great job Cee LO and I say yet another F You to anybody who says otherwise……Go OBAMA 2012!!!!
KimZ'sStupid
March 19th, 2012
5:19 pm
Pick your fried twinkie up and read the job description of the President. By the way did The Curious George look a like who occupied The White House from 2001 through 2008 listen to his advisors when they told him that there are no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Or was he using The Tax Payers military to kill the man who tried to kill his daddy. Just wondering. You smart people who believe yourselves to be 20% smarter need to explain how it works. Cuz weez jus dont understans. IDIOT.
KimZ'sStupid
March 19th, 2012
5:20 pm
Now, I do agree with you Momma G.
KimZ'sPackage
March 19th, 2012
5:36 pm
KimZ’sStupid
March 19th, 2012
5:19 pm
did The Curious George look a like who occupied The White House from 2001 through 2008 listen to his advisors when they told him that there are no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
Advisers (spelled correctly) didn’t say there were no WMDs. The same Intelligence Agency gave info on Bin Laden’s location is the one that thought there could still be some WMDs or the ability to produce them if sanctions were lifted. here is the basics of it. Bush was wrong some of the intelligence was wrong but it wasn’t like Hussein hadn’t made them before.
During the regime of Saddam Hussein, the nation of Iraq was believed to have weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Hussein was internationally known for his use of chemical weapons in the 1980s against Iranian and Kurdish civilians during and after the Iran–Iraq War. It is also known that in the 1980s he pursued an extensive biological weapons program and a nuclear weapons program, though no nuclear bomb was built.
After the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War, the United Nations located and destroyed large quantities of Iraqi chemical weapons and related equipment and materials throughout the early 1990s, with varying degrees of Iraqi cooperation and obstruction.[1] In response to diminishing Iraqi cooperation with UNSCOM, the United States called for withdrawal of all UN and IAEA inspectors in 1998, resulting in Operation Desert Fox. The United States and the UK asserted that Saddam Hussein still possessed large hidden stockpiles of WMD in 2003, and that he was clandestinely procuring and producing more. Inspections by the UN to resolve the status of unresolved disarmament questions restarted from November 2002 until March 2003,[2] under UN Security Council Resolution 1441, which demanded Saddam give “immediate, unconditional and active cooperation” with UN and IAEA inspections, shortly before his country was attacked.[3]
During the lead-up to war in March 2003, Hans Blix had found no stockpiles of WMD and had made significant progress toward resolving open issues of disarmament noting “proactive” but not always the “immediate” Iraqi cooperation as called for by UN Security Council Resolution 1441. He concluded that it would take “but months” to resolve the key remaining disarmament tasks.[4] The United States asserted this was a breach of Resolution 1441 but failed to convince the UN Security Council to pass a new resolution authorizing the use of force due to lack of evidence.[5][6][7] Despite being unable to get a new resolution authorizing force and citing section 3 of the Joint Resolution passed by the U.S. Congress,[8] President George W. Bush asserted peaceful measures could not disarm Iraq of the weapons he alleged it to have and launched a second Gulf War,[9] despite multiple dissenting opinions[10] and questions of integrity[11][12][13] about the underlying intelligence.[14] Later U.S.-led inspections agreed that Iraq had earlier abandoned its WMD programs, but asserted Iraq had an intention to pursue those programs if UN sanctions were ever lifted.[15] Bush later said that the biggest regret of his presidency was “the intelligence failure” in Iraq,[16] while the Senate Intelligence Committee found in 2008 that his administration “misrepresented the intelligence and the threat from Iraq”.[17] A key CIA informant in Iraq admitted that he lied about his allegations, “then watched in shock as it was used to justify the war”.[1
chris
March 19th, 2012
5:39 pm
Oh poo!!! You idiot conservatives get off your high horse. Pretending to be so appalled and offended. This is an event none of you ignorant, low-class, trash spewing, idiots would have attended anyway. You didn’t vote for the man, you never liked him, and you don’t respect him. So why should we pay attention to any criticism you have about the President? Keep living in your world of hate, while the real world passes you by. We civilized people still love this country and respect the President.
motormouth
March 19th, 2012
5:50 pm
he’s like school at 3:15p…no class.
Frank
March 19th, 2012
5:57 pm
I don’t see any problem with it I like the explicit version better anyway plus I’m sure everyone there was mature enough to not have a problem with it.
jeffhendrix
March 19th, 2012
6:15 pm
cant wait for the change in november—
jeffhendrix
March 19th, 2012
6:18 pm
and chris— your funny , now , u respect this president—- couldnt say that 4 yrs ago—- your president has things screwed up now– but i know– he s inherited so much from Bush– this president will go down as the worst since carter—— cant wait for november
Teresa
March 19th, 2012
6:19 pm
What a sick game didnt we give Iran WMD and then we later cried foul b/c a white man was gonna be taken out?
Teresa
March 19th, 2012
6:21 pm
Yeah, you make “your candidate” look brilliant!!! Not……..
BADA BING
March 19th, 2012
6:21 pm
Baby steps people, let’s take baby steps. This is ATL, we should be happy that there was a gathering of people downtown, and no one was shot.
jeffhendrix
March 19th, 2012
6:22 pm
and by the way chris– try not to be so stereotypical democrat— just cause someone disagrees with the prez—- doesnt mean your a hater——this president is dangerous–but i guess u cant see that
Tony Dow
March 19th, 2012
6:26 pm
Is this what mlk had in mind when he talked of dignity and respect and class?
KimZ'sPackage
March 19th, 2012
6:26 pm
Bada Bing…good call but the Secret Service is a Lil different than the Body Guards Hip Hop Stars keep around.
Shirley
March 19th, 2012
6:28 pm
I am surprised that Cee Lo Green was even chosen to perform for this type of event. I’ve only seen a few minutes of one of his performances on TV and the disrespect got to be a little too much for me, so I quickly swithched stations. There are many more respectful artists that would have represented Atlanta well.
Teresa
March 19th, 2012
6:31 pm
Who do you guys feel would have been a good fit to perform?
KimZ'sPackage
March 19th, 2012
6:39 pm
ANYBODY but a Hip Hop type of singer. People that paid $35k should have a classier pallet. You want the crowd to get excited but it is not like it was a football game.
Tony Dow
March 19th, 2012
6:43 pm
I do not blame Obama, he travels all over the world and makes thousands of appearances such as this. He cannot control who his supporters are. No, this is an Atlanta thing, they same Atlanta that has a school system that is a joke of the country. Most of you are too dumb to understand that the chain wearing, cussing dancing negro is just a parody that the world laughs at, not with. Even Spike Lee gets it, and i am sure Obama does too, but he will take your money regardless.
WiseWoman
March 19th, 2012
6:46 pm
I was at the event and up close. I thought his choice of that particular song was inappropriate, as did most of the crowd. Ceelo dropped the “f” bomb exactly 2 times in the chorus of the song, and it was his assistant who signaled him that was enough…and then Ceelo moved on to the cleaner version of the song. I’m amazed that he thought an event for the President of the United States was a good place to let loose like that. The poor choice was Ceelo’s…not the President’s.
Tony Dow
March 19th, 2012
6:48 pm
Cee Lo may as well be Sammy Davis Jr dancing and shuffling to entertain a drunken Dean Martin. Is the what so many in the civil rights generation fought for? To get a Black president so a big fat buffoon can get on stage a dressed like a clown and cuss and shoot birds? As you guys love to say, you have come a long way, but you got a long way to go before you will be collectively respected
300yearsOFpayback
March 19th, 2012
7:10 pm
Is anyone surprised by CeeLo’s behavior?
Devlin Volupte
March 19th, 2012
7:12 pm
Obama doesn’t have anything to do with Cee-Lo’s choice of lyrics. Cee-Lo should have stuck with the “clean” version – he made a mistake. Politics is judgemental and uptight.
Lack of Class
March 19th, 2012
7:24 pm
Money does not buy Class
Gwinnett Fred
March 19th, 2012
7:37 pm
Freedom of Speech – a right granted by the Consitiution that Obama seems to loatle.
Poor Taste – an option that so many that want to exercise their right to Freedom of Speech want to take advantage of
You get what you pay for and you get what you vote for.
KimZ'sPackage
March 19th, 2012
8:00 pm
Oprah making Heads Roll at OWN. What do you think she would have done if Low Class Green did that at one of her parties?
Bernie Mac
March 19th, 2012
8:05 pm
Now all yall self rightous people out there: I ain’t scared of you Mufa’s. Obama didn’t let me perform at his fundraisers either; all this BULL GOINS ON!
Bubba
March 19th, 2012
8:42 pm
Dwarf fat head brothas must be in season
Bubba
March 19th, 2012
8:45 pm
have you noticed his short arms . its so funny watching him on the voice
Bubba
March 19th, 2012
8:46 pm
is an circus around?
Bubba
March 19th, 2012
8:47 pm
fried chicken, cadillac car ,we aint as dumb as u think we is
Bubba
March 19th, 2012
8:48 pm
hey alias , yes
KimZ'sStupid
March 19th, 2012
8:51 pm
KimZ’s stop listening to Boortz so much. He says what he says for entertainment only. Secondly, look the word advisor up and share with the reading audience what you find. ( Thirdly, what Constitution do you follow, because mine states every four years on the 1st Tuesday of Nov. And regardless of what you think or have been told by Boortz. Every tax payer (without a felony) has an opportunity to vote. I am not sure if you attended school. My institute of higher learning taught me how to do research on my own and think for myself. That means unlike yourself, I have the capacity to listen to people who make a living entertaining other people by stating lies and opinions about other people without believing everything that is stated. IDIOT
PS. Can’t wait to read your next grammar critique. You probably think I spelled grammar wrong.
KimZ'sPackage
March 19th, 2012
8:55 pm
Show me where it says the people vote to elect the president? The Electoral College votes for the president and that is why we have had the peoples vote be different and the person they voted for was not the president.
Bubba
March 19th, 2012
8:56 pm
uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
KimZ'sPackage
March 19th, 2012
8:57 pm
Here STUPID kimZ
The Electoral College. Each state gets a number of electors equal to the total number of senators and representatives it has. Washington D.C. gets three even though it is not a state.
Each political party chooses the people it wants to serve as electors if it wins that state. On election day, although the names of the presidential candidates appear on the ballots, people are actually voting to choose electors who are pledged to vote for that candidate.
In December, after the popular election, the electors meet in their respective state capitals and cast their ballots for president and vice president. Theoretically, except in a few states, they can actually vote for anybody they want to but of course in practice they almost always vote for whomever they were pledged to support. the person who gets the majority of the electoral votes becomes president.
Read Article II and the 12th Amendment to the US Constitution.
Bubba
March 19th, 2012
8:58 pm
sorry i thought i was blocked,this is about the fat head dwarf. Right?
KimZ'sPackage
March 19th, 2012
9:00 pm
Tell me again what Institution of Higher Learning you attended?
B4Real
March 19th, 2012
9:04 pm
Cee-LOWW showed that money does not buy class.
KimZ'sStupid
March 19th, 2012
9:07 pm
ps. In order to help you further; after the majority of the citizens of each state make their decision, the electoral college votes.
KimZ'sStupid
March 19th, 2012
9:12 pm
Talk to me after the first Wednesday of November; when President Obama is reelected by the electoral college. I do have more important things to do then to blog back and forth with you. Meanwhile your kids have just snuck their boyfriends or girlfriends into their room to get it on. Get out of your meth lab and tend to them. Have a wonderful night.
KimZ'sPackage
March 19th, 2012
9:13 pm
stupid kim yes and keep reading. THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE ELECTS THE PRESIDENT not the popular vote. You are to stupid but I am sure it is not your fault. You were educated (if you can call it that) in GOVERNMENT Schools full or moron liberal teachers. now AGAIN what High School and College did you attend?
12th Amendment -
Ratified June 15,1804
Changed the way the President and Vice President are elected.
The 12th Amendment means:
- separate ballots are used for president and vice president.
- the candidates with the greatest number of votes for each office will be elected if that number constitutes a majority of the total electors.
- if a majority for the president is lacking, the House of Representatives shall vote by state from among the three highest candidates.
- if a majority for the vice president is lacking, the Senate shall vote by state from among the two highest candidates
- the vice president must meet the same constitutional requirements as provided for the president.
Source(s):
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h468.ht…
black boortz
March 19th, 2012
9:13 pm
You can take the boy out of Bankhead, but you can’t take the Bankhead out the boy.
KimZ'sPackage
March 19th, 2012
9:18 pm
STUPID kimz let me educate you some more. Wow you are getting 12 years of government school couldn’t teach you. You should pay me.
The Electoral College consists of the electors appointed by each state who formally elect the President and Vice President of the United States. Since 1964, there have been 538 electors in each presidential election.[1] Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the Constitution specifies how many electors each state is entitled to have and that each state’s legislature decides how its electors are to be chosen. U.S. territories are not represented in the Electoral College. The Electoral College is an example of an indirect election, as opposed to a direct election by United States citizens (such as for members of the United States House of Representatives).
The voters of each state, and the District of Columbia, vote for electors to be the authorized constitutional participants in a presidential election. In early U.S. history, some state laws delegated the choice of electors to the state legislature. Electors are free to vote for anyone eligible to be President, but in practice pledge to vote for specific candidates and voters cast ballots for favored presidential and vice presidential candidates by voting for correspondingly pledged electors.[2][3]
The Twelfth Amendment provides for each elector to cast one vote for President and one vote for Vice President. It also specifies how a President and Vice President are elected. The Twenty-third Amendment specifies how many electors the District of Columbia is entitled to have.
The Electoral College’s existence is controversial. A 2001 Gallup article noted that “a majority of Americans have continually expressed support for the notion of an official amendment of the U.S. Constitution that would allow for direct election of the president” since one of the first-ever public polls on the matter in 1944, and Gallup found no significant change in 2004.[4][5] Critics argue that the Electoral College is archaic, inherently undemocratic and gives certain swing states disproportionate influence in selecting the President and Vice President. Proponents argue that the Electoral College is an important, distinguishing feature of federalism in the United States and that it protects the rights of smaller states. Numerous constitutional amendments have been introduced in the Congress seeking to alter the Electoral College or replace it with a direct popular vote; however, no proposal has ever passed the Congress.
I can’t wait until you apologize and say I am RIGHT and you are WRONG.
MyMyMyWhatAboutThat
March 19th, 2012
9:23 pm
President Barack Obama has raised over $151.4 million dollars to Flip Flop Romney’s $63.7 million dollars. The actual amount recorded is showing $151,392,217. I think I will make that $151,392,317.
Cool Lady
March 19th, 2012
9:50 pm
I did not see any of these comments when Republicans were calling the President…Liar, Boy, Rag Head just to name a few….but as soon as something is done in support for the President, even when he is not present it turns into the story of the day!!!! OBAMA 2012
Bernie Mac
March 19th, 2012
10:31 pm
I’m still votin for Obama, but it hurts when his campain complains about my comedy. Sumofabitch’s don’t know what real comedy about. Das some BULL! AND I AIN’T SCARED OF YOU MAFAS’
No Hope Without Change In 2012
March 19th, 2012
10:51 pm
It’s truly sad that those who have been hurt the most since this president came to office are still his staunchest supporters…..
“I voted for Obama because he’s black.” ~ Samuel L. Jackson (the racist voice of the politically ignorant black voter)