Beyonce Called "Insensitive" After Sampling Audio From Challenger Explosion In "XO"
Posted on Mon Dec 30th, 2013 2:15pm PDT By X17 Staff
Uhh who thought that was a good idea?!
While both fans and critics alike have been all about the surprise visual album that Beyonce dropped on Dec. 13 -- one song has caused quite the controversy. Queen B's song about a troubled relationship, entitled "XO," shockingly features a brief vocal sample of retired NASA public affairs officer Steve Nesbitt as he comments on the space shuttle Challenger explosion, which killed all seven crew members shortly after lifting off from the Kennedy Space Center on Jan. 28, 1986.
"Flight controllers here looking very carefully at the situation. Obviously a major malfunction," Nesbitt said at the time of the explosion and in the sample.
June Scobee Rodgers, who is the widow of Challenger Commander Dick Scobee, said she was "disappointed" at the pop star's use of the clip since it brought back painful memories of the fateful day she lost her husband, reports ABC News.
"The moment included in this song is an emotionally difficult one for the Challenger families, colleagues, and friends," she said. "We have always chosen to focus not on how our loved ones were lost but rather on how they lived and how their legacy lives on today."
"For the words to be used in the video is simply insensitive, at the very least," said retired astronaut Clayton Anderson.
Yep -- we'll definitely agree with that assessment!
On Christmas, the pop diva released her third informational YouTube video titled "Part 3 Run 'N Gun," in which she explained she had recorded about 80 songs to make the visual album.
"When I started picking the songs that I gravitated towards, because I recorded about 80 songs, it was the songs that were more effortless to me that stuck around," she explained in the YouTube video.
Hey Bey -- maybe you should have picked one of the other 65 songs that didn't have live commentary on people's deaths -- instead of "XO"?!
On Monday, the "Single Ladies" singer gave a statement to Us Weekly, saying:
- "My heart goes out to the families of those lost in the Challenger disaster. The song 'XO' was recorded with the sincerest intention to help heal those who have lost loved ones and to remind us that unexpected things happen, so love and appreciate every minute that you have with those who mean the most to you. The songwriters included the audio in tribute to the unselfish work of the Challenger crew with hope that they will never be forgotten."
Well if that's an apology it's not a very good one! We agree with the song's critics and definitely think Beyonce (and her songwriters) choice to sample the heart-breaking audio was both "disappointing" and "insensitive."
At this rate, maybe for Bey's next album she will croon some heartfelt lyrics over a sampling of the voicemails left by people in the Twin Towers? That would serve as a great companion piece to "XO."