Beyonce Slammed for Using Space Shuttle Disaster Audio in Song
Once again, Beyonce shows she's got about as much sensitivity as Miley Cyrus has class and ethics when it comes to music.
The Australian online newspaper news.com.au reports Monday the pop tart is taking heavy criticism for an audio clip used in her new song XO that was lifted, or sampled, from the 1986 Challenger Space Shuttle Disaster which killed 7 astronauts.
The song, which Beyonce claims is about trying to help people deal with the loss of a loved one, uses a six-second clip of the disaster audio. According to news.com.au:
'The song XO, about a troubled relationship, features the voice of now-retired NASA public affairs officer Steve Nesbitt, commentating as the shuttle was seen breaking apart on live television, US ABC-TV reports.
"Flight controllers here looking very carefully at the situation. Obviously a major malfunction," Nesbitt is heard saying. The brief audio clip runs for six seconds."
Challenger exploded 73 seconds after taking off from the Kennedy Space Center on January 28th, 1986. While Beyonce tried to cover her tracks by issuing a statement praising NASA and astronauts, a flood of space officials, former space crew, officials and politicians have blasted the singer. Many have said her callous use of the audio is no different than if an entertainer had used audio of Walter Cronkite telling America about the shooting of President Kennedy, or the 911 calls from the World Trade Center for shock value in a pop song.
You may recall the night of the election in which Obama beat Mitt Romney, Beyonce tweeted to her followers "Take That, Mitches!" about the Obama victory. That tweet was quickly pulled from her Twitter account, but not before it was republished across the media and Hollywood gossip scene. She may appear to be all glitz and glam, but she's really no less of a thug than her controversial husband, rapper mogul Jay-Z.