Nutter Promises City Review Of This Year's [Expletive Deleted] 'Welcome America' Concert
By Mike Dunn
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Mayor Nutter is promising a full review of Friday night's "Welcome America" concert on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, after nearly all the musicians filled their performances with expletives.
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Mayor Nutter was in the crowd Friday night and says he wasn't particularly bothered by the language of the musicians, though he admits he wasn't always paying close attention.
"I think the instances were fairly few in the course of a four-hour concert. To be honest, I couldn't understand most of what Nicki Minaj was saying," the mayor said today.
What Nicki Minaj, Ed Sheeran, and others were saying and singing included numerous f-bombs and other expletives.
Television station WPVI, which carried the broadcast, repeatedly cut away to a slide of the station's logo as its air delay system struggled to keep up with the bleeps.
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Nutter says the concert organizers are contractually obligated to make the concert family-safe, and he promises a full review.
"We do have various provisions in the contracts of the folks we contract with about these kinds of issues," the mayor tells KYW Newsradio, "so we will certainly be reviewing what happened. I believe there is a provision that specifically has to do with language and behavior and those kinds of things. We'll review that for all of the artists."
And he says the city will try to make next year's "Welcome America" concert a bit more G-rated.
"Certainly going forward, we'll take additional measures and steps to help ensure, by type of artist and other things that go on with them, that there is a strict adherence to those kinds of provisions," he said today.
Nutter did offer an apology to anyone who was offended by the language at the concert but points out that those who were bothered could simply leave.
"The acts are fairly well known, and people have the choice to either not participate while that artist is on, or not be around, or go to the bathroom. Go get something to eat! Do whatever it is that you have to do," he advised.