Beyonce Kicks New Year With Two Controversies: One with NASA, Other With Jesus Christ [VIDEO]
2014 has kicked off with a stir of controversies for Beyonce Knowles. The sexy singer who dropped a self-titled visual album in December has ended up being slammed for using the voice clip of the ill-fated Challenger space ship in her music video of "XO."
Although Beyonce explained her stance for the use of audio footage from a radio broadcast moments after the ill-fated space shuttle Challenger exploded killing all on board, she never removed the clip from the music video. Now space agency NASA has called the move by the singer inappropriate and criticized it.
"The Challenger accident is an important part of our history; a tragic reminder that space exploration is risky and should never be trivialized," Lauren Worley, NASA's press secretary on Tuesday, said.
"NASA works every day to honor the legacy of our fallen astronauts as we carry out our mission to reach for new heights and explore the universe."
NASA's response came after Beyonce explained the use of the short snippet in a statement to ABC News Tuesday saying she wanted to heal the wounds.
"My heart goes out to the families of those lost in the Challenger disaster," the statement released by Beyonce said.
"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."
"Flight controllers here looking very carefully at the situation. Obviously a malfunction," NASA Public Affairs Officer Steve Nesbitt said in the clip, which dated back to Jan. 28, 1986. Officer Nesbitt has now retired from NASA but his comments were broadcast live when the world watched the wreckage of Challenger fall from the sky after exploding 73 seconds into its journey.
Earlier, June Scobee Rodgers, the widow of Challenger commander Dick Scobee, and a founder of the Challenger Center for Space Science Education, told ABC News she was not happy with Beyonce's use of audio clip.
"We were disappointed to learn that an audio clip from the day we lost our heroic Challenger crew was used in the song 'XO,'" she said.
"The moment included in this song is an emotionally difficult one for the Challenger families, colleagues and friends. 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," Rodgers added.
Beyonce has also ended up in another controversy when she posted a picture of herself covering the picture of Jesus Christ from the Leonardo Da Vinci's painting "The Last Supper." Some critics called the move by the singer as "epic fail" while others loved it.
Beyonce has never been embroiled in controversies and it is new for her fans to see her get involved in not one but two of them. Do you think she should apologize for her act or should people try and understand Queen Bey's perspective?
Source: youtube.com/beyoncevevo