<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">dang <a href="https://twitter.com/TODAYshow">@TODAYshow</a>, just couldn't let her finish, huh? love ya <a href="https://twitter.com/JanelleMonae">@JanelleMonae</a>! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlackLivesMatter?src=hash">#BlackLivesMatter</a> cc: <a href="https://twitter.com/deray">@deray</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Nettaaaaaaaa">@Nettaaaaaaaa</a> <a href="http://t.co/QeGhY5lQGJ">pic.twitter.com/QeGhY5lQGJ</a></p>— marla york. (@theseMYtweetz) <a href="https://twitter.com/theseMYtweetz/status/632195350653112321">August 14, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...b42acdb?cps=gravity_5059_-2014020290930308109
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Janelle Monàe Cut Off During Her Message About Black Lives On 'Today'
"Silence is our enemy. Sound is our weapon."
Headshot of Kim Bellware
Kim Bellware
Associate Chicago Editor, The Huffington Post
Posted: 08/14/2015 02:26 PM EDT
Janelle Monàe's Friday morning performance on NBC's "Today" was lively, original and cut short -- right when she started to talk about police brutality.
The "Tightrope" singer appeared with collaborators from her new custom record label, Wondaland, in support of the collective's new EP, "The Eephus" (see her interview with "Today" above).
At the end of her performance of "Hell You Talmbout," a rousing protest song for the Black Lives Matter movement, Monàe told the crowd:
Yes Lord! God bless America! God bless all the lost lives to police brutality. We want white America to know that we stand tall today. We want black America to know we stand tall today. We will not be silenced...
But before she could finish, the camera cut away and an anchor tried to talk over her.
Monàe shared a message via Instagram about the meaning of "Hell You Talmbout" hours after the members of Wondaland led a march in Philadelphia protesting police brutality on Wednesday:
This song is a vessel. It carries the unbearable anguish of millions. We recorded it to channel the pain, fear, and trauma caused by the ongoing slaughter of our brothers and sisters. We recorded it to challenge the indifference, disregard, and negligence of all who remain quiet about this issue. Silence is our enemy. Sound is our weapon. They say a question lives forever until it gets the answer it deserves... Won't you say their names?
The song specifically mentions black Americans like Sean Bell, Trayvon Martin, Walter Scott, Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Aiyana Stanley-Jones, Sandra Bland and the many others who have died, mostly at the hands of the police.
While interviews and musical segments from Monàe's 'Today" appearance were quickly posted to the show's website on Friday, the "Hell You Talmbout" performance was conspicuously absent.
<div class="group row main-content">
<div class="component-container content">
<div data-beacon="{"p":{"mlid":"entry"}}" class="entry-component component">
<div class="entry-component__floating-share">
<div style="height: 0px;" class="sticky-wrapper is-sticky" id="floating-share-component-sticky-wrapper"><div style="position: fixed; top: 70px;" data-beacon="{"p":{"mnid":"floating_share","mlid":"bpage_share_bar"}}" class="floating-share-component component" id="floating-share-component">
<ul class="floating-share-component__list">
<li class="floating-share-component__item floating-share-component__item_facebook" data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"facebook"}}">
<div class="floating-share-component__item-container">
<div class="social-component component fout_guard">
<button class="floating-share-component__action floating-share-component__action_popup facebook-share" data-root="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php" data-params="?u=http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/55cdff7fe4b07addcb42acdb"></button>
</div>
</div>
<div class="floating-share-component__count floating-share-component__count_facebook">310</div>
</li>
<li class="floating-share-component__item floating-share-component__item_twitter" data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"twitter"}}">
<div class="floating-share-component__item-container">
<div class="social-component component fout_guard">
<a class="floating-share-component__action twitter-tweet-btn" href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?lang=en&text=Janelle%20Mon%C3%A0e%20was%20cut%20off%20on%20%22Today%22%20when%20she%20started%20speaking%20about%20police%20brutality%20http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/55cdff7fe4b07addcb42acdb%20via%20@blackvoices"></a>
</div>
</div>
<div class="floating-share-component__count floating-share-component__count_twitter">0</div>
</li>
<li class="floating-share-component__item floating-share-component__item_pinterest" data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"pinterest"}}">
<div class="floating-share-component__item-container">
<div class="social-component component fout_guard">
<button class="floating-share-component__action floating-share-component__action_popup pinterest-pinit-btn" data-root="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/" data-params="?url=http%3A%2F%2Fm.huffpost.com%2Fus%2Fentry%2F55cdff7fe4b07addcb42acdb&media=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.huffingtonpost.com%2F%2Fasset%2F735_1102%2F55ce01451d00006e00144d21.jpeg%3Fcache%3Ds6QV6x4lxv&description=Janelle+Mon%C3%A0e+Cut+Off+During+Her+Message+About+Black+Lives+On+%27Today%27"></button>
</div>
</div>
<div class="floating-share-component__count floating-share-component__count_pinterest">0</div>
</li>
<li class="floating-share-component__item floating-share-component__item_comments" data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"comments"}}">
<div class="floating-share-component__item-container">
<div class="html-component component fout_guard">
<a class="floating-share-component__action" href="#comments">Comment</a>
</div>
</div>
<div class="floating-share-component__count floating-share-component__count_comments">7</div>
</li>
<li class="floating-share-component__item floating-share-component__item_email" data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"email"}}">
<div class="floating-share-component__item-container">
<div class="html-component component fout_guard">
<button class="floating-share-component__action">Email</button>
</div>
</div>
</li>
</ul>
</div></div>
</div>
<h1 class="entry-component__headline" itemprop="name">Janelle Monàe Cut Off During Her Message About Black Lives On 'Today'</h1>
<h2 class="entry-component__excerpt">"Silence is our enemy. Sound is our weapon."</h2>
<div class="entry-component__author" itemscope="" itemprop="author creator" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person"><div data-beacon="{"p":{"mnid":"headline"}}" class="author-component component">
<div class="author-component__byline" data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"author_profile"}}" itemid="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kim-bellware">
<div class="author-component__headshot" data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"author_profile"}}" data-href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kim-bellware">
<div name="http://img.huffingtonpost.com//asset/50_50/001900376c90.jpg" class="image-component component">
<img src="http://img.huffingtonpost.com//asset/50_50/001900376c90.jpg" data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"author_profile"}}" class="image-component__main-image author-component__headshot" alt="Headshot of Kim Bellware">
</div>
</div>
<div class="author-component__info">
<a class="author-component__name" data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"author_profile"}}" rel="author" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kim-bellware"><span itemprop="name">Kim Bellware</span></a>
<span class="author-component__teaser">Associate Chicago Editor, The Huffington Post</span>
</div>
<ul class="author-component__social-links">
<li class="author-component__social-links-item author-component__social-links-item_twitter" data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"author_twitter"}}">
<div class="social-component component fout_guard">
<a class="social-component__link" href="http://twitter.com/bellwak" target="_blank"></a>
</div>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div></div>
<div class="entry-component__dateline"><span class="entry-component__posted">Posted: 08/14/2015 02:26 PM EDT</span></div>
<div class="entry-component__content">
<div class="embed-asset embed" data-type="embed-asset" data-provider="Embed" data-title="">
<div class="embed-code">
<script data-readbyplayerseed="true" type="text/javascript" src="https://spshared.5min.com/Scripts/PlayerSeed.js?playList=519012409&height=381&width=570&sid=577&origin=SOLR&videoGroupID=155847&relatedNumOfResults=100&responsive=false&relatedMode=2&relatedBottomHeight=60&companionPos=&hasCompanion=false&autoStart=false&colorPallet=%23FFEB00&videoControlDisplayColor=%23191919&shuffle=0&isAP=1&pgType=cmsPlugin&pgTypeId=addToPost-top&onVideoDataLoaded=track5min.DL&onTimeUpdate=track5min.TC"></script><div class="fmvps-wrapper" style="display: block; float: left; width: 570px; height: 381px; outline: none; border: none; -webkit-border-image: none; -moz-border-image: none; border-image: none; margin: 0; padding: 0; background: transparent; -webkit-box-sizing: content-box; -moz-box-sizing: content-box; box-sizing: content-box; -webkit-border-radius: none; -moz-border-radius: none; border-radius: none; -webkit-box-shadow: none; -moz-box-shadow: none; box-shadow: none; visibility: visible;" id="SmartPlayer_0"><div style="display: none;" id="SmartPlayer_0_ErrHolder"></div><div id="adaptvDiv0"><object data="http://cfiles.5min.com/FlexPlayers/SmartPlayer_321.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" name="FiveMinPlayer022382312349817" id="FiveMinPlayer022382312349817" height="381" width="570"><param value="true" name="allowfullscreen"><param value="always" name="allowScriptAccess"><param value="opaque" name="wmode"><param value="#000000" name="bgcolor"><param value="filesPath=http://cfiles.5min.com/&playerVersion=321&sid=577&skey=63&skeyName=huffingtonpost.com&shareAsReferrer=True&synName=AOL&nielsenCaId=cmp185177&nielsenCaIdDm=cmp185271&csc3=AOL&videoID=519012385&category=News/US News&categoryId=323&vChan=4&vChanName=news&isEmbed=True&productType=PlayerSeed&isAutoStart=false&volume=100&vcdBgColor=#191919&playerSkinType=5&colorPallet=#FFEB00&partnerNetworkID=152088&isTopTitle=False&videoClickUrl=https%3a%2f%2ftwitter.com%2fhuffpostlive&relatedBottomHeight=60&exposureType=PlayerSeed&inappropriate=0&videoTitle=US+Embassy+In+Havana+To+Raise+American+Flag&duration=106&keywords=american%20flag,cuba,john%20kerry,united%20states&videoUrl=http%3a%2f%2ftvideos.5min.com%2f%2f124%2f5190124%2f519012385.mp4%3fhdnea%3dexp%3d1439589361%7eacl%3d%2f*%7ehmac%3dcbbe90fdca1b3a5dc0b4c6ef14602d17b8e0ee95c82b676750c18de8557e0e3c&activeRenditions=4087&defaultRendition=2&aolOnSite=http://on.aol.com/&embedSite=http://embed.5min.com/&pageUrl=http%3a%2f%2fon.aol.com%2fvideo%2fus-embassy-in-havana-to-raise-american-flag-519012385&previewPic=http%3a%2f%2fpthumbnails.5min.com%2f10380248%2f519012385_c_embedStandard.jpg&userId=517484515&geoRights=ALL&isOmni=true&isSola=false&studio=HuffPost+Live+Highlights&shrOpts=1&vSynName=AOL&referrerURL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2fentry%2fjanelle-monae-cut-off_55cdff7fe4b07addcb42acdb%3fcps%3dgravity_5059_-2014020290930308109&vcdLogoUrl=http%3a%2f%2fafiles.5min.com%2fimages%2fvcdlogos%2faolon.swf&vcdLogoClickUrl=http%3a%2f%2fon.aol.com&playerActions=49175&func=GetResults&isPlayerSeed=true&playlist=519012409&videoCount=50&autoStart=0&relatedBottomHeight=60&shortAnalysisText=Janelle%2bMon%2be%2bCut%2bOff%2bDuring%2bHer%2bMessage%2bAbout%2bBlack%2bLives%2bOn%2b%2bToday%2b&url=http%253a%252f%252fwww.huffingtonpost.com%252fentry%252fjanelle-monae-cut-off_55cdff7fe4b07addcb42acdb%253fcps%253dgravity_5059_-2014020290930308109&counter=0&callback=FIVEMIN.RequestManager.callbacks%255b92428%255d&playerSkinType=5&ccSubsAvailable=False&regularSubsAvailable=False&cbCheckTime=200&videosList=javascript({PL}.getPlayListURL)&jsPL={PL}|FIVEMIN.OnePlayer.Data.get().Players[0]&relatedOnVideoChanged={PL}.trigger('fireRelated')&jsGrabTemplate={PL}.getGrabCodeTemplate&extEventsFunc={PL}.genericFlashEvents&extEventsEnabledCode=2147483647&jsLogData={PL}.logFlashData&bwLogger=2147417071&jsATP=FIVEMIN.ATP.getSegmentsData&relatedMode=2&videoGroupID=155847&relatedNumOfResults=100&isAP=1&isFL=1&loop=false&customParameters={"sso":"","pgType":"cmsPlugin","pgTypeId":"addToPost-top"}&endUrl=1&logvCQ=5&logmId=517484515&logvGeo=0&logsKey=63&endUrlLog=1" name="flashvars"></object></div></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="modulous-placement-component modulous-placement-component_flight-absent huffpost-adspot placement-entry_paragraph_0 component fout_guard">
</div>
<div class="modulous-placement-component modulous-placement-component_flight-absent huffpost-adspot placement-sharebox_260x60 component fout_guard">
</div>
<p>Janelle Monàe's Friday morning performance on NBC's "Today" was lively, original and cut short -- right when she started to talk about police brutality. </p>
<div class="modulous-placement-component modulous-placement-component_flight-absent huffpost-adspot placement-entry_paragraph_1 component fout_guard">
</div>
<p>The "Tightrope" singer appeared with collaborators from her new custom record label, Wondaland, in support of the collective's new EP, "The Eephus" (see her interview with "Today" above).</p>
<div class="modulous-placement-component modulous-placement-component_flight-absent huffpost-adspot placement-entry_paragraph_2 component fout_guard">
</div>
<p>At the end of her performance of "Hell You Talmbout,"<a href="http://www.wired.com/2015/08/monae-wondaland-hell-you-talmbout/" target="_blank"> a rousing protest song</a> for the Black Lives Matter movement, Monàe told the crowd: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Yes Lord! God bless America! God bless all the lost lives to police brutality. We want white America to know that we stand tall today. We want black America to know we stand tall today. We will not be silenced...</p>
</blockquote>
<div class="modulous-placement-component modulous-placement-component_flight-absent huffpost-adspot placement-entry_paragraph_3 component fout_guard">
</div>
<p>But before she could finish, the camera cut away and an anchor tried to talk over her.</p>
<div class="embed-asset embed" data-type="embed-asset" data-provider="Embed" data-title="">
<div data-twttr-id="twttr-sandbox-0" class="embed-code">
<iframe title="Twitter Tweet" style="border: medium none; max-width: 100%; min-width: 220px; margin: 7px auto; padding: 0px; display: block; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 500px; float: none;" allowfullscreen="" class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" allowtransparency="true" scrolling="no" id="twitter-widget-3" frameborder="0" height="483"></iframe>
<script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
</div>
<div class="modulous-placement-component modulous-placement-component_flight-absent huffpost-adspot placement-entry_paragraph_4 component fout_guard">
</div>
<p>Monàe <a href="https://instagram.com/p/6VNc3hn_m1/" target="_blank">shared a message via Instagram</a> about the meaning of "Hell You Talmbout" hours after the members of Wondaland<a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/trending/Janelle-Monae-and-Jidenna-lead-peaceful-protest-through-Philly.html" target="_blank"> led a march in Philadelphia protesting police brutality</a> on Wednesday: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>This song is a vessel. It carries the unbearable anguish of millions. We recorded it to channel the pain, fear, and trauma caused by the ongoing slaughter of our brothers and sisters. We recorded it to challenge the indifference, disregard, and negligence of all who remain quiet about this issue. Silence is our enemy. Sound is our weapon. They say a question lives forever until it gets the answer it deserves... Won't you say their names?</p>
</blockquote>
<div class="modulous-placement-component modulous-placement-component_flight-absent huffpost-adspot placement-entry_paragraph_5 component fout_guard">
</div>
<p>The song specifically mentions black Americans like <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/24/sean-bell-killing-nypd-gescard-isnora-ray-kelly-fired-resigned_n_1377144.html" target="_blank">Sean Bell,</a> <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/09/trayvon-martin-timeline_n_3412879.html" target="_blank">Trayvon Martin,</a> <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/08/michael-slager-indicted_n_7535520.html" target="_blank">Walter Scott</a>, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/19/chris-singleton_n_7621832.html" target="_blank">Sharonda Coleman-Singleton,</a> <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/11/eric-garner-protests-demands_n_6308956.html" target="_blank">Eric Garner</a>, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/20/michael-brown-memorial_n_7345690.html" target="_blank">Michael Brown, </a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/02/aiyana-stanley-jones-lawsuit-conspiracy_n_6993756.html" target="_blank">Aiyana Stanley-Jones</a>, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/sandra-bland-texas-jail_55a7c7d0e4b0896514d06f41" target="_blank">Sandra Bland and </a>the many others who have died, mostly at the hands of the police. </p>
<div class="modulous-placement-component modulous-placement-component_flight-absent huffpost-adspot placement-entry_paragraph_6 component fout_guard">
</div>
<p>While interviews and musical segments from Monàe's 'Today" appearance were quickly posted to the show's website on Friday, the "Hell You Talmbout" performance <a href="http://www.today.com/popculture/janelle-monae-turns-today-plaza-musical-wondaland-unique-look-sound-t38806" target="_blank">was conspicuously absent. </a>
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...b42acdb?cps=gravity_5059_-2014020290930308109
Last edited:
