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Voodoo's image defended in court

grant

19:43 / 25.02.04

Well, here's a reversal.

Mad, Mad House sued for defaming voodoo.

Apparently, a Philadelphia-based advocacy group says the reality show's "voodoo priestess" isn't really, and wants them to change her billing.

The lawsuit contends that the program's voodoo priestess, Iya Ta'Shia Asanti, is actually a priestess of "Yemoja in the Ifa tradition," a faith of the Yoruba people of Africa.

Asanti does not dress as a voodoo priestess, the lawsuit continues, and a commercial showing participants being placed into a pit and covered with animal parts and entrails does not represent voodoo or Ifa.

They're heading to federal court.

It's interesting how these once-secret faiths are getting all righteous and ready to go to court nowadays.

FinderWolf

20:00 / 25.02.04

Wow. Interesting stuff. I've seen the posters for this and thought..."hmmm, weird."

William Sack

09:52 / 26.02.04

A few years ago a barrister friend of mine was booked to do a trial. About a week before the trial was due to start the Defendant applied to adjourn the trial as he was planning on travelling back to the Dominican Republic on that date to perform a voodoo (if that's the correct term) ceremony to lay his dead father's soul to rest. His father had died a few years beforehand, and apparently the ceremony had to be performed at this time or his soul could not be laid to rest for decades. The judge unhesitatingly granted the adjournment. I'm not sure whether to be surprised that a crusty old English judge shows more respect to non-mainstream religious practices than the producers of a reality TV show. Anyway, the people suing the show might want to head for the Central London County Court for a sympathetic ear.

illmatic

11:07 / 26.02.04

The "Alts" - a vampire, Wiccan, naturist, voodoo priestess and modern primitive - put their 10 guests through "tolerance testing activities," one promotion says, and then vote weekly to decide who is banished and who ultimately wins a $100,000 prize.

How odd. Amazing how all this things become handy marketing categories - a "modern primitive"? WTF is that? And "tolerance testing" - will there be enforeced gential piercing? Why don't they just be subject them to the forced prolyetising of evangelical Christianity? Surely that'd be enough to test anyone's tolerance. enough for anyone.

Lionheart

17:39 / 26.02.04

Voodoo a "secret fath"? Come on! Anybody can become a vodoun priest! It's one of the most open religions out there! Calling it "secret" is like calling television a "secret device accessible to only a few."

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