Post by Robert Braun on Jul 14, 2003 13:16:33 GMT -5
Groups Blast Beyonce's Grant's Tomb Dance
Sun Jul 13, 9:50 AM ET
NEW YORK - The head of a private historical group says the government and NBC should have stopped a scantily clad Beyonce Knowles from dancing in a "patently inappropriate" way on the steps of the tomb of President Ulysses S. Grant.
Frank Scaturro, president of the Grant Monument Association, wrote letters Saturday to NBC, Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton and National Park Service director Fran Mainella over Beyonce's nationally televised July 4 performance.
Saying the former Destiny's Child singer used "lascivious choreography" and barely dressed backup dancers, Scaturro's letter to NBC complained: "At that location, a certain decorum should have been observed from which popular entertainers are not exempt."
Representatives of NBC and Beyonce didn't return calls seeking comment Saturday. National Park Service spokesman David Barna declined to comment because officials hadn't yet read the letter.
Ulysses Grant Dietz, the great-great-grandson of the Civil War hero and 18th president, said Saturday he didn't object as a rule to most live performances, as long as the tomb is carefully maintained. But he suggested organizers be more thoughtful.
"If they're doing a Fourth of July celebration and they're doing it at a grave of a president, maybe they should look a little more closely at what the performances are," Dietz said.
Sun Jul 13, 9:50 AM ET
NEW YORK - The head of a private historical group says the government and NBC should have stopped a scantily clad Beyonce Knowles from dancing in a "patently inappropriate" way on the steps of the tomb of President Ulysses S. Grant.
Frank Scaturro, president of the Grant Monument Association, wrote letters Saturday to NBC, Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton and National Park Service director Fran Mainella over Beyonce's nationally televised July 4 performance.
Saying the former Destiny's Child singer used "lascivious choreography" and barely dressed backup dancers, Scaturro's letter to NBC complained: "At that location, a certain decorum should have been observed from which popular entertainers are not exempt."
Representatives of NBC and Beyonce didn't return calls seeking comment Saturday. National Park Service spokesman David Barna declined to comment because officials hadn't yet read the letter.
Ulysses Grant Dietz, the great-great-grandson of the Civil War hero and 18th president, said Saturday he didn't object as a rule to most live performances, as long as the tomb is carefully maintained. But he suggested organizers be more thoughtful.
"If they're doing a Fourth of July celebration and they're doing it at a grave of a president, maybe they should look a little more closely at what the performances are," Dietz said.