No-Twerkin' in Mississippi: Big Freedia's Performance Get Cancelled

Big Freedia, aka “Queen of Bounce,” and fresh off of her biggest mainstream exposure to date—That’s Freedia you hear talking about cornbread and collard greens on Beyoncé’s ”Formation" song"— well now she’s fighting with authorities in Mississippi over the freedom to drop down low and hit the floor with it. 

The Guardian reported Freedia’s brush with local authorities in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, who shut down one of her shows earlier this month on the pretense that it violated a decades-old law prohibiting the intersection of lascivious shaking and hard liquor. (Her entourage of scantily-clad professional twerkers is a big part of Big Freedia’s act.)

According to Mississippi’s head of beverage control, “You can’t wear a thong ... And you cannot simulate a sex act“ at a venue that sells liquor in the so-called “Hospitality State,” although that doesn’t sound very hospitable at all. (The word “gyrating” was specifically invoked.) 

And while Freedia’s performed in Hattiesburg before, the authorities were notified of this particular potential fun-code violation after watching videos of her on YouTube, having presumably only recently heard of her.

Following the cancellation of the show, Big Freedia posted on her Facebook page:

I would just like to apologize to all my fans in Mississippi for my show being cancelled tonight due to the state alcohol beverage control saying that my show violates some law out there when I have came numerous time to perform this is some twerkloose bulllshit and my team will be taking the necessary legal actions !! Once again I Love y'all Mtown stay strong fight for the Diva !! ‪#‎bigfreedia‬ ‪#‎mississippinonsense‬ ‪#‎twerkloose‬

Outraged fans along with other media outlets wanted to know why twerking is acceptable everywhere except the great state of Mississippi. Freedia’s manager also got in touch, and discovered that the burden of any fines levied for the performance would be borne by the venue, which also could lose its liquor license.

(source)

ForeverMeah says... Twerk at your own risk.