Even die-hard fans of Beenie Man (real name Anthony Moses Davis) have roasted the Jamaican dancehall legend for “insulting” one of Trinidad and Tobago most beloved foods, doubles.
Social media blew up in defence of doubles after Beenie Man stated that he doesn’t eat the iconic local street food, because he once offered it to a stray dog and the dog declined.
Among those apparently taking offence was Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne, who took to Facebook to seemingly throw shade at the “Girls Dem Sugar” singer.
Suited up in navy blue, Browne posted a photograph of himself delighting in a hot doubles, eaten on location at an unidentified doubles vendor’s stall. The minister captioned his post with an emoji of the T&T flag and the words “Sim simma”, quoting the famous hook line from “Girls Dem Sugar”.
The “King of the Dancehall” injured T&T’s national pride after stating in a YouTube interview last Saturday that while doubles was “nice”, he doesn’t eat it because stray dogs don’t. He was speaking during an interview on the Drink Champs podcast, hosted by American rapper N.O.R.E. (Victor James Santiago Jr) and American disc jockey DJ EFN (Eric Fernando Narciandi).
Beenie Man was asked to name the best island in the world and, as was expected, the artiste picked his home, Jamaica. Asked which island was best outside of Jamaica, Beenie Man said “Jamaica” again but added, “I love Trinidad.”
Beenie Man was also asked to choose between calypso and soca but couldn’t pick a favourite.
The discussion about Trinidad and Tobago progressed into Beenie Man being asked whether he eats doubles. Here the “Romie” singer went on to utter words that have hurt many of his followers in T&T.
“I love Trinidad but I don’t eat doubles, because dogs don’t eat doubles and I don’t eat anything that dogs don’t eat. I don’t eat doubles,” Beenie Man stated.
The dancehall star said he had tried eating doubles two or three times while in Trinidad.
“It is nice but once I threw it to the dog and the dog didn’t eat it,” he recalled.
“Dogs eat chicken, dogs eat fish, dogs eat dumplings but the dog won’t eat the doubles,” he added.
Beenie Man claimed that he was “on the roadside and threw it to a stray dog and the dog didn’t eat it”.
The podcast interview on YouTube up to yesterday had surpassed 151,000 views.
“Farse, ungrateful”
Beenie Man’s criticism of doubles spurred a collective “steups” across T&T yesterday, much of which was expressed on social media. There were some calls to boycott the artiste’s music and concerts, while those who were serious about taking a stand also declared that they had “unfollowed” the artiste on social media. Some people specifically vowed to boycott Beenie Man’s next concert in T&T, recalling that they had patronised his last local show in 2022 in Port of Spain.
Several people said that if an artiste or well-known personality from T&T had made disparaging remarks to the world about Jamaican food, nationals of that country would have “made a scene”.
Proclaiming themselves as fans of the singer but expressing disappointment, people said Beenie Man’s concerts in T&T have in the past enjoyed immense success and that the country has been one of his biggest supporters.
Many said Beenie Man should have been more diplomatic in his rejection of the channa-and-bara favourite, as popular artistes are also considered to be unofficial ambassadors of their countries.
“Ohhhh naahhh nahhh nahhh naah naahhhh nahhhh….He definitely lost the keys tuh he bimmah,” one Facebook poster commented, referencing “Girls Dem Sugar”.
Media commentator Paolo Kernahan was also disturbed, stating:
“He could simply have said I’m not a huge fan of doubles, rather than ‘dog don’t eat that!’ But this is Beenie Man, not Kofi Annan.”
Kernahan was referring to former United Nation secretary general and legendary diplomat, Kofi Annan.
Another poster was especially hurt, as his favourite doubles man bore a resemblance to the singer and his pet dog also loved doubles.
“What is dis? This cuts deep because our favourite doubles man we call ‘Beenie’ because we always thought there was a resemblance. And if we even say ‘doubles’ and don’t bring back for our pet doggie Ravi, is level pressure. He would eat it out in a minute,” the man stated.
One man questioned whether Beenie Man had brought his dog to T&T, or whether the dogs in question had rejected “Jamaican doubles”.
Another stated that dogs also don’t like Jamaican saltfish and ackee, which is that Caribbean country’s national dish.
Another poster gained a lot of laughs when he stated, “It (Beenie Man’s music) is nice but I once played it for my dog and my dog didn’t listen to it. Dogs listen to soca, dogs listen to rock, dogs listen to country but the dog wouldn’t listen to Beenie.”
