B.E.T Puts Ban on Ciara’s “Ride” and Teairra Marie’s “Sponsor”

Recent controversy has stirred everyone in the recent months as B.E.T announced in February that singer Teairra Mari’s video for “Sponsor” will not be receiving any kind of video rotation because of the lyrical content of the song, in which creates a negative message to women for encouraging, essentially exchanged sex for money and gifts. In my opinion, the song is lyrically playful and silly; it’s a nice sing along. And I don’t believe that Teairra Mari is consciously promoting her audience to be a gold-digger. And then, it dawned on me. Since when did B.E.T develop a consciousness about the content and messages that their programming promotes? If they're so worried about glamorizing sex, they should of thought about that years ago when artists like the Ying Yang Twins released “The Whisper Song“ or Nelly‘s “Tip Drill“ (by the way, thank God Uncut was scrapped from the roster. You could see the uncensored version of all those videos). Last time I checked, Trey Songz’s video for “I Invented Sex” and most recently “Neighbors Know My Name,” was considered soft porn and contained very racy lyrics as he bragged about his condom size and being able to satisfy his woman‘s sexual appetite so effectively, she screams out to where the neighbors can hear what’s going on. yet it still receive heavy rotation on B.E.T especially on 106 & Park, where all the young kids are tuned in. It’s a contradiction to play songs that speak of male dominance in a sexually explicit manner, and only to ostracize women for trying to be more risqué as a way to liberate themselves. Now, Ciara’s “Ride” is a bittersweet pill to swallow: with the constant gyrating choreography and subtle sensual lyrics or “riding the d,” it’s easy to understand why the video could be banned but, in defense for Ciara, sex is becoming more mainstream in our society. And it use to be something so private, but now it's so open amongst us, you can't help but notice it. Kids these days have probably seen something way worse than booty poppin’ celebrities, but that‘s another story. No matter who comes along, the need for strong sexual themes involving erotic choreography and racy behavior in attempt to push the envelop will only result in hypocoristic critic. The bottom line is sexism still exists, even amongst the top rated entertainers of our generation. It serves as a double standard and I think it’s extremely unprofessional that B.E.T has decided to ban Ciara's music video for “Ride” as they attempt to clean up their image. B.E.T. is really losing it…