Gwen Stefani who is in the wake of her "The Sweet Escape" promotional tour has encountered a financial problem due to Akon's 'stage act'.
- May 8, 2007
AceShowbiz - Akon who is the prime guest in Gwen Stefani's "The Sweet Escape" song has caused a controversy when he danced on stage with a 15-year-old fan in a provocative way. As a result, Verizon Wireless which is the main sponsor of Stefani's "The Sweet Escape Tour" refused to have any further involvement in the jaunt.
Initially the stage 'act' was no issue at all until a video footage of the dance circulated the Internet and triggered Verizon's alarm. The telecommunication network immediately removed behind the scenes footage of the tour in Verizon Sweet Escape Tour page and fired Akon as the supporting act. The company even pulled Akon ringstones and music from its stores. Not only stopping there, Verizon also decided in the end to take its hands off this entire tour.
Stefani's manager Jim Guerinot admitted that he was shocked upon this pulling. "Akon has been a perfect gentleman on this tour. His show has at best been a PG show. Children of all ages have been attending," Guerinot said. 'We have had no complaints -- nothing but satisfied people. And I would say that we're shocked that Verizon would drop Gwen Stefani as part of this whole debate." He added that his team is anticipating the situation by evaluating what may result at the end.
Despite this problem, the tour that has started since April hasn't come into any effect and Akon is still performing with Stefani in the scheduled dates.
