Sport Minister Anil Roberts "humbly apologised" to Parliament Friday for saying "there were no expletives" at the Nicki Minaj concert at the Hasely Crawford Stadium on October 30.
Diego Martin Central MP Amery Browne filed a motion earlier in the week seeking to have Roberts sent to the Privileges Committee for misleading the House about what transpired at the concert, which was the sponsored by the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs.
When Browne first raised the matter Roberts denied that expletives were used by the artiste. But Browne said he had the evidence to challenge Roberts and suggested that the minister should face parliamentary censure for misleading the House.
"I had no intention whatever to deliberately mislead this Honourable House," Roberts said on Friday in an attempt to avoid being sent to the committee. "If it is that such impression was created in the minds of Honourable Members, then I humbly apologise for having so structured my statement as to create this unfortunate impression."
Roberts said if "improper language or use of words were uttered or conveyed" at that concert, he wished to categorically dissociate himself and the Government of Trinidad and Tobago "from that type of behaviour".
Earlier in the week he had insisted that no expletives were used on stage. "I am telling you, I was there. Hasely Crawford was there, the police were there, and there were no expletives," he said initially.
On Wednesday, Browne said he had YouTube video and a transcript of the concert to prove otherwise and that his evidence "clearly and incontrovertibly demonstrates the repeated use of obscenities at this concert"
In providing an explanation, Roberts said, "On reflection, Mr Speaker, I could understand that if a literal interpretation is placed on my statement, then the impression may have been given that I was attempting to mislead this Honourable House. However, Mr Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth.
"Mr Speaker, if my statement, is taken in its entirety, it could be inferred that a reasonable interpretation of what I was attempting to convey, would be that the use of expletives on stage by any artiste would have inevitably led to a shutdown of the Minaj concert.
"Mr Speaker, there having been no shutdown of the concert by the police, one could also infer that no offensive language or vulgar expressions were used to the annoyance of police on duty. It was in that context that my statement was made," he said.
The laws of Trinidad and Tobago allow police to shut down a concert if offensive language is used. Police used that authority more than 20 years ago to stop a concert by Red Fox, better known to Trinidad and and Tobago audiences as the scheming Sandford from the sitcom Sandford and Son.
Roberts used the opportunity during his contribution to the debate on the Anti-Gang Bill to point out that in 2007 the People's National Movement (PNM) brought Sizzla to perform at its youth rally.
Diego Martin Central MP Amery Browne filed a motion earlier in the week seeking to have Roberts sent to the Privileges Committee for misleading the House about what transpired at the concert, which was the sponsored by the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs.
When Browne first raised the matter Roberts denied that expletives were used by the artiste. But Browne said he had the evidence to challenge Roberts and suggested that the minister should face parliamentary censure for misleading the House.
"I had no intention whatever to deliberately mislead this Honourable House," Roberts said on Friday in an attempt to avoid being sent to the committee. "If it is that such impression was created in the minds of Honourable Members, then I humbly apologise for having so structured my statement as to create this unfortunate impression."
Roberts said if "improper language or use of words were uttered or conveyed" at that concert, he wished to categorically dissociate himself and the Government of Trinidad and Tobago "from that type of behaviour".
Earlier in the week he had insisted that no expletives were used on stage. "I am telling you, I was there. Hasely Crawford was there, the police were there, and there were no expletives," he said initially.
On Wednesday, Browne said he had YouTube video and a transcript of the concert to prove otherwise and that his evidence "clearly and incontrovertibly demonstrates the repeated use of obscenities at this concert"
In providing an explanation, Roberts said, "On reflection, Mr Speaker, I could understand that if a literal interpretation is placed on my statement, then the impression may have been given that I was attempting to mislead this Honourable House. However, Mr Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth.
"Mr Speaker, if my statement, is taken in its entirety, it could be inferred that a reasonable interpretation of what I was attempting to convey, would be that the use of expletives on stage by any artiste would have inevitably led to a shutdown of the Minaj concert.
"Mr Speaker, there having been no shutdown of the concert by the police, one could also infer that no offensive language or vulgar expressions were used to the annoyance of police on duty. It was in that context that my statement was made," he said.
The laws of Trinidad and Tobago allow police to shut down a concert if offensive language is used. Police used that authority more than 20 years ago to stop a concert by Red Fox, better known to Trinidad and and Tobago audiences as the scheming Sandford from the sitcom Sandford and Son.
Roberts used the opportunity during his contribution to the debate on the Anti-Gang Bill to point out that in 2007 the People's National Movement (PNM) brought Sizzla to perform at its youth rally.
He described Sizzla as "a man who sings the most vile lyrics against homosexuals, a man who sings about violence and a man who, just before the PNM youth rally in the Savannah, was charged with gun possession".
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