Woodstock Organizers Answer Ad-Rock
Beastie Boy Ad-Rock’s remarks about Woodstock’s numerous reported
sexual assaults, delivered as his band accepted their Best Hip-Hop
Video award at last week’s MTV Video Music Awards, offered viewers
a reality check about a situation that has gone largely unaddressed
by high-profile artists.
During his speech, Ad-Rock admonished concert promoters to take
an active role in preventing these kinds of assaults. “I think we
can do something, as musicians,” he said. “I think we can talk to
the promoters and make sure that they’re doing something about the
safety of all the girls and the women that come to our shows.”
As a sign of their support of the Beastie Boy’s comments, the
producers of Woodstock ’99, whose handling of the alleged assaults
has earned them considerable flak from women’s organizations like
N.O.W., issued a statement congratulating the Beasties and other
artists who have spoken out about the alleged assaults.
“Concert promoters, security companies, artists and so many others
who work daily to put on concerts must work together to foster an
environment of safety and security for all concertgoers,” it reads.
“We stand ready to work with any other producers, artists and other
industry leaders to ensure that it is universally understood that
violence is not acceptable and will not be tolerated at our
concerts or anywhere else.”