Bounty Killer Supports Call For Reopening Of Entertainment Industry, Or Provision Of Relief Package

The Warlord Bounty Killer has thrown his support behind Dream Entertainment Managing Director Scott Dunn’s call for the Government of Jamaica to either reopen the entertainment industry, or provide its stakeholders with a relief package.

In an open letter to the Government, which was published in The Jamaica Observer on Sunday, Dunn said that for 10 months, the entertainment industry had suffered in silence at the hands of the Government who had left them “sitting on the bench”.

On Sunday, Bounty Killer posted excerpts of the letter on Instagram and urged Dancehall fans to read it, indicating that Dunn’s statements had his endorsement.

“Entertainment is deemed as non-essential so recreation isn’t essential to the human mind and body our livelihood not essential to our lives,” Bounty said sarcastically, adding: “check out what Scott has to say Thank You: Talk Truth Nuh Mon.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CKcGsoDp0UE/

He was supported by Spragga Benz who noted: “Dat we fi a do and stop tek dem lies laying down like rocks”, Spragga said.

Dunn’s letter had also said he had to “escape” to Miami to stage his last event as it was his “only opportunity to earn”.   According to him, Dream Entertainment “is arguably the largest owner and producer of music festivals, carnivals and large events in the entire Caribbean”.  He also said a 2020 Government study determined that the two events that have the highest economic impact for Jamaica were Dream Weekend and Jamaica Carnival.

Dunn also said he could not fathom how open-air parties are seen as a higher-risk when on travelling back to Jamaica from Florida a few days ago, the entire plane cabin was “shoulder-to-shoulder”.

Added to that, he said was having to “deal with the contradiction that it’s safe to be in a large wholesale club jockeying to buy Christmas gifts”, even though under the Disaster Risk Management Act in Jamaica, “only a maximum of 15 people are allowed to gather”.

He also bemoaned the fact that illegal parties were thriving, yet legitimate promoters were being stifled by Government restrictions, noting that last summer when his company was allowed to stage events, even though they followed every rule in the book, the industry still got shut down.

“Yet, illegal parties are on the rise. The rule breakers were earning in 2020 and they are still earning now,” Dunn noted.

Noting that the events industry “has not received one dollar to date” and I the only one still closed, he said it should be reopened and like every other sector allowed to operate even at limited capacity with some protocols.

“A few days ago, I had to lay off more of my staff…They need their jobs back. We need to reopen the events industry as this cannot continue!” he declared.

“If we are not allowed to operate even in a small way or get a reasonable lifeline of relief funds, we, the formal players, will all be bankrupt. The only people in the industry who will have money to weather the storm are the people operating illegally, they will be all you are left with to rebuild the events industry,” he added.

While many of Bounty’s fans joined him in expressing support of Dunn’s letter, followers like buchygeneral, noted that the promoter sounded “like a spoilt uptown kid who not getting his way”, while djpancholee said he was only speaking out due to narrow self-interest.

“Put a pause on it.  This is a multimillionaire promoter complaining about his show not being able to keep.    Where was he when the regular selectors were crying out to the government?  He’s happy to include so many folks under the entertainment banner as reason for his show to keep.   Everybody with big show kept supm virtual. When poor people party a get lock off Dreams a keep same way. Corona level the playing field now,” he argued.

“Mr. Dunn can afford to rent the national stadium or Sabina Park and him out here acting like he can’t find a meal to put on his table.   Him can go Mexico and Miami and all these places and book venues, so wah him a bawl bout?   I love music, but if government can’t free up the place for likkle poor promoters and selectors Mr. Dunn needs to take a seat or join the line cause his pocket nuh need money more that poor people,” he added.

On Monday, Television Jamaica reported that Minister of Local Government Desmond Mckenzie refuted claims made by Dunn that entertainment stakeholders had presented additional proposals to him, about how to get the industry back in business.

“I have not received any proposal from any sector of the entertainment industry, neither last week, nor the week before nor now… and it would only suggest to me that if we are to sit around a table with these people then there will be some deficit of trust, because you can’t come out and make a public utterance like that knowing that there is no truth to it,” McKenzie  said.

On Dunn’s Instagram page where he also shared his letter, the discussions were robust with a handful of entertainers, among them Ce’cile, showing support.

“I agree with you… ” Ce’cile wrote. “I know for sure people travelled and did not quarantine and went home to their kids. How is it then that we, ADULTS cannot have even small events? Restaurants are open. Hotels are having events. We definitely are suffering. Of course I get it cannot be the type of events we are used to… but there should be some way forward… we really are being obliterated here. Totally forgotten. I don’t know how much more of this we can endure.”

Some followers like francescagoodaz empathized with Dunn but said it would be unsafe for him to stage his event at this time, as his patrons come “from all over the world China, Europe, UK, USA, Africa”.

“All it takes is one person to have Covid & party DONE!! Truss & believe I miss going out lock up in Great Britain is so dead right now, but I wanna party and feel safe…,” she wrote to which Dunn shot back: “It’s not about Dream Wknd, it’s about an entire industry that has been closed for 10 months, whilst many others with equal risks are allowed to operate. It’s about a double standard. It’s about hypocrisy”.

Dunn was also taken to task by shen_ymcmb_boss who argued that while the industry is important to job creation, most Jamaican party-goers are wayward and will disobey the rules and are to be blamed and not the Government.

The follower also said while he sympathizes with Dunn, “on a business level” from a human being perspective parties are “NOT a NEED at the moment”.  He said the virus situation was not improving and so people should celebrate in their “yards” as this “won’t lead to excess spending” and then complaints later on.

“I have seen countless videos of parties and these persons aren’t following nun of the rules put in place all when it says on the flyer “wear yuh mask and social distance “… Them not doing it… When the government free up the place last year the same ppl them of the land in less than a day breach every rules hence why them close again,” he said.

“Yall have to be creative man, now is the time to dig deep and adapt to the situation at hand and evolve and become great… #life over death, #life over money,” he added.

The debate reached boiling point when jojomagic__ in agreement with shen_ymcmb_boss, argued that Jamaica hospitals were already overburdened with COVID cases, and upbraided Dunn for being inconsiderate and unconscionable.

“We control what we can. Can you imagine a stadium filled with people? And a lot of them have underlining medical issues (as healthy as they may look). Bodies would be dropping everywhere and then who is to blame? You Mr. Dunn? When you already took their money and you and your family members are isolated in your big house? Or another country,” she questioned.

“Prevention is better than cure.   Your “speech” reminds me of a tea party rally, where big companies take advantage of the smaller worker men to get the government to do what you want,” she added.