Last Friday morning, Janelle Monáe guest starred on the TODAY Show to perform her new song "Hell You Talmbout," a song with a blazing message of hope and protest for black Americans.
After the song, she tried to express her commentary on the subject, and TODAY Show anchor Savannah Guthrie cut her off.
Here's what she said before she was cut off:
"God bless. God bless all the lives lost to police brutality. We want white America to know that we stand tall today. We want black America to know we stand tall today. We will not be silenced!"
Is it ironic that Monáe was, in fact, silenced moments after voicing her message? Probably not.
The star might have figured her attempt to vocalize such would get thwarted, which is probably why she felt the need to declare she wouldn't get silenced in the first place.
But wait. How does that make sense?
[anad]
It's important to note how we just tripped over our own words. Why should she have assumed that she was going to get cut off when she was asked to perform "Hell You Talmbout," a song that powerfully asserts exactly what she was trying to say afterwards?
That's one of many questions we have about this circumstantial censorship, of which also include, why is white America so afraid to let black America speak their piece? Why can't white America can't handle mild discomfort while black America contends with fear and oppression?
Either way, TODAY Show's censorship provoked more than a few tweets about the situation from several major news outlets.
.@JanelleMonae's police brutality speech was cut off on the "Today" show http://t.co/AnNsnGhIfr
— billboard (@billboard) August 17, 2015All this, while NBC claims the cutoff was unintentional:
We're skeptical. We think it'd be overly coincidental that an accidental cutoff would occur in the midst of such a volatile social commentary, #TBH.
The medium is the message.
Janelle Monáe made a powerful, artistic contribution to a movement we wholeheartedly believe in. Not only is it important that more black artists take a pronounced stance for #BlackLivesMatter, but it is imperative they seize on the opportunities that provide substantially increased visibility.
The issue with this is that TODAY wanted to provide a platform for an artist and her song, and in having her perform it they affirmed a belief in its value.
[anad2]
But we must absolutely question whether the value is derived from the popularity of the song as pop-cultural edifice, or whether they believe in #BLM itself.
Are they simply social activist tourists touching on racial issues at arm's length? Should we view this as exploitation of message negotiated and broken down to the bare bones of its commercial value as consumable media?
The point here is that any value they found came under fire and into question the moment they censored aspects of the message, and cutting someone off from launching into something timely, needed, and profound is absolutely that.
In cutting her off, they essentially said, "Look, we agree enough with you to let you sing your song, but we draw the line when you want to expound on elements in an articulate, concise way when the music stops."
We are not silent Millennials. Silence is our enemy. Sound is our weapon. #HYTB #HowardTheatre https://t.co/ZiTpFHqmMm
— Janelle Monáe, Cindi (@JanelleMonae) August 16, 2015Yes, technically her performance was over, and they could have cut away for any number of reasons, but consider the volatility of the moment we're living in, the palpable racial tensions, the movement we're trying to live through, the recent events along the Bernie Sanders campaign trail.
It's important to note that there aren't a whole lot of important topics thrown out on TODAY, and such is the case with any daytime program in recent memory. Remember, they're not the news.
There's a delicate balance between audience and content they generally can't afford to toy with, so much so that it's the plot of a really bad Harrison Ford movie.
My response to any & all foolishness from folks trying to debate Black Lives Matter will simply be #HellYouTalmbout. Thank you @JanelleMonae
— Janelle Ryan ✊❤️ (@TheJanelleShow) August 15, 2015Distressing as those questions are, we don't have answers for them. We apparently don't know how big we are going to allow the stage for #BlackLivesMatter to grow, or how long we can afford to let them speak and part of that is disconcerting, another part of that is much more terrifying.
Janelle Monáe, you rock. Keep on keeping on.
Watch This YouTuber Catfish Teenage Girls & Teach Them a Lesson About Facebook Predators.
[Feature Image Courtesy: Bisman News]