Akon Axed by Verizon Over Simulated Rape

151. This dance was great, NOT AKON's fault some 15 yr old preachers kid made it in the club. Its obvious she enjoyed it and knew what she was getting herself into! SHAME ON VERIZON for dropping their sponsorship! My kids and I love AKON and I fully support him and his defense!!! Besides AKON has more common sense not to try to pull an R Kelly. AKON WE LOVE YOU!!!!

Posted at 10:47AM on May 12th 2007 by Tina

152. UMMMMMM..... where is this naughty little girls parents. She shouln't have been sneaking into somewhere that has an age minimum. Or taking naked pictures of her self on my space. Akon should not be punished for this little girls behavior. she should be grounded.

Posted at 3:50PM on May 14th 2007 by Nikki

153. This is for all the culture illiterate people both black and white. Everyone is calling Akon a jerk an ass, pervert, rapist for dancing with a 15 year old girl in an ADULT club. Before you start jumping to conclusions, the way he was dancing with her is no different that the way people in the Caribbean dance if they are brought up on stage at concerts. Before you start jumping to conclusions please do your homework and read about a damn culture. Second, 15 years olds in different part of the world are not like these bratty 15 year olds in America. At 15 in Trinidad, you have already graduated from high school and are in college. Do some damn homework you culture illiterates. Which 15 year old in America dresses like that, has tatoos on their backs, have already danced in raunchy island music videos, and dresses like that. How could you blame a man who did not go with the intention of dancing with a 15 year old? If this was a high school dance and he did that, I would understand. She was in an adult club dancing like an adult, went up on stage like an adult, and was on top of him riding like an adult. We need to learn to take responsibilities for our actions. Her fast ass should not have been there in the first place. If all of you culture illiterates go to an island during Carnival and go to a show..... this type of behavior is very very normal. I will never go up on stage during a show because I know these things happen. I have seen it hundreds of times at Caribbean shows. Even at dances this happens. Go get educated about culture before you start running your biased mouths!!! You culture illiterates. Go on GOOGLE or go on YOU TUBE and start some researching.

Posted at 11:25AM on May 14th 2007 by Island Queen

154. i mean dam dont fault akon for the grown ass little girl. She had no business in a club at the age of 15 anyway. Fault her parents, the little freak, or the club for that matter for not checking ID. not the the performer you dumb folks.

Posted at 12:16AM on May 13th 2007 by lucretia

155. There is no innocent party in this situation.

Underage girls don't belong in clubs like this.

Parents of underage girls don't let them go to clubs like this.

Regardless of the girl's age, what Akon did is disgusting, demoralizing and wrong.

I too would love to hear Sharpton's take on this situation, and I applaud Verizon for it's handling on the situation.

Posted at 3:32PM on May 14th 2007 by lile

156. I think it's terrible and sad that he behaved in such a manner. However, if I'm not mistaken, this incident took place in an establishment where there is an age requirement for entering. I guess my question is, why was a 15 year old in a place like that? But, that still doesn't excuse his behavior. I wouldn't care if the person was 15 or 51, performers still shouldn't take it upon themselves to sexually exploit people. It's just plain wrong. These are some of the things that Al Sharpton is campaigning against. It's gone on too long and now it's time to stop the madness! Nothing is about love or romance anymore. It's all about sex.

Posted at 10:07AM on May 17th 2007 by Cathy

157. i knew there was something strange about a kon from prison.he went to prison 4 a reason.

Posted at 10:19AM on May 15th 2007 by ayana

158. Doing what he did was a shame with a fan of any age, but to his credit, he said that no one under 18 was supposed to be allowed in the venue.

Posted at 8:09AM on May 16th 2007 by Robin

159. Ok, here's the thing...she was underage, and the club shouldn't have let her in there in the first place. The club was at fault. If Akon was told that everyone at that club was supposed to be over a certain age, how was he to know that she was 15? There's no way he would have known. Performers don't card girls before they bring them on stage - in this instance, it was the club's job to do that, and they failed.

I don't condone Akon's actions towards this young girl, but the fault lies with the club, not with Akon.

And as a side note, you can't say "rape" when the victim is perfectly willing and happily going along with it. Whether it's simulated or not.

Posted at 1:41PM on May 15th 2007 by Melissa

160. This is a gross misrepresentation of reality. Although it's more interesting told in this manner, it simply doesn't jive with the actual events.

Posted at 11:17PM on May 15th 2007 by Joshua David

161. akon i will never ever buy a cd from u again im glad last year when i threw out trouble. ur an asshole. and i want to see those charges and u git fired from the music industry jus like r kelly shouled dtoo. asshole

Posted at 12:54PM on May 19th 2007 by jessica

162. First of all I'd like to start by saying that a majority of people are blaming the wrong things and the wrong people. If you watch a group of teenages (14 & 15 yr olds included) dance, it consists mostly of bumping and grinding...movements of a very sexual nature. The concert was held at a club where only 18+ could be admitted. Danah had a fake id that put her at the age of 19. In the first place, she lied to her parents, committed a felony by faking her age, and wore an outfit suitible for a street corner whore to the concert. That's the first series of mistakes. Secondly, the club was fooled by the fake id...they should hire people who are smart enough to determine the difference between a real and fake id. The video clips that were shown on tmz failed to include the 10 minutes of Danah grinding on Akon while he was laying flat on the ground. Akon was painted to look like he grabbed a completely innocent girl from the audience to molest her when that was not the case. She decided to go onstage herself, and was not forced to appear in front of the crowd, or commit any of the acts that she did with him. Granted, I disagree with ANYONE dancing the way that they were. But fact of the matter is thats the typical way that people dance in clubs which is why i don't frequent them. Remember Akon could not have danced like that with her had she not consented...and she did consent. The only reason why Akon could be charged with CSC (molestation) is because she is underage. If it were someone over 18 he could not be charged with anything. I say it should be a lesson learned. Akon should be charged with a light CSC sentence, the club should be shut down for exposing underage teens to very explicit events. Danah's parents should be charged with child neglect and the girl, Danah should also be arrested for obtaining a fake id, and using it to gain access into an otherwise restricted area ( a felony). If you're going to blame and punish someone, blame all parties involved.

Posted at 8:46PM on May 18th 2007 by Kala

163. THE FEMALES THAT WERE DANCING W/ AKON, WELL THEY WERE SMILING N LOOKED LIKE THEY WERE ENJOYING EVERY MIN. SO WHOS AT FAULT ?? THESE GIRLS ARE NOT VICTUMS JUST BECAUSE THEY R FEMALE, THEY TOOK THEMSELVES TO THAT POINT !! ITS NOT ALWAYS THE MALES FAULT !!

Posted at 10:01PM on May 18th 2007 by BLEU

164. Attempting or simulating rape is a serious charge. For Verizon to terminate an endorsement contract with Akon due to him not knowing that a fan who participated in some distasteful onstage activity is underage is on the ridiculous side of things.

If Akon had been a rock star rather than a rapper/R&B singer, he probably would've gotten a slap on the wrist. But Akon isn't a rock star, he's a dark-skinned African who, up until this point, has never had any run-ins with the public or garnered any negative press. Verizon obviously didn't have a problem with the sexually suggestive nature of his material, considering the fact that he was endorsing their products and they were promoting his music.

Paris Hilton can whore herself into oblivion and she's rewarded with free vehicles, commercial endorsements, etc. Verizon's policy in this matter seems more racist than it is them taking a stand against violence against women/rape, etc. I would've rather seen a press conference held and Akon given the opportunity to apologize for his actions and him being given another chance to work with Verizon.

I have T-Mobile and I'm not always happy with them, but Verizon doesn't need to worry about me switching over to them and their "extended network" anytime soon.

Posted at 5:14PM on May 21st 2007 by Akonomics

165. Yuck!

Posted at 12:04AM on May 27th 2007 by not a fan