BLK Dating app's sexually explicit midterm video 'degrades' black voters, activists say
African-American conservative policy experts are criticizing a video released by a dating app that partnered with former first lady Michelle Obama's voting initiative for using sexually explicit content to motivate black voter participation in the 2022 midterm elections.
The former first lady's When We All Vote initiative, however, denied involvement with the video and claims the new partnership is part of an effort to inspire youth involvement in elections.
Earlier this month, the When We All Vote initiative partnered with the BLK dating application, a website geared toward black singles. The purpose of the partnership is to "ensure more Americans are registered and ready to vote" ahead of the Nov. 8 elections.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
On Oct. 4, BLK released a video titled "No Voting No Vucking," featuring singers Rashad Spain — known as Saucy Santana — and Katrina Taylor, known as Trina.
In the video, Saucy Santana sings, "You want to hit this booty, got to do your civic duty." He continues, "No voting, no loving, no voting, no touching, no voting, no nothing, no voting, no vucking."
Trina sings about showing people who want to "flirt" how to be a "poll worker," alluding to stripping in a play on words.
The song includes the lyrics, "Uh, legs in the air, I don't care. Anyone can get it, universal healthcare."
A link at the end of the video directs viewers to When We All Vote's voter registration portal, which enables users to access their secretary of state's website.
In a statement to The Christian Post, a spokesperson for Obama's voter registration initiative denied involvement with the video.
"When We All Vote did not participate in the creation, provide funding or support the making of this video," a spokesperson for the organization told The Christian Post in a statement, noting that the BLK dating application was responsible for the video's creation.
In a separate statement to Fox News, a spokesperson for the voting initiative said that over 100 supporters have access to their portal, and the organization would not answer further questions about the video.
In an Oct. 4 interview with AdWeek, Jonathan Kirkland, head of brand and marketing at BLK, said he thinks that young voters will be "inspired" by Trina and Saucy Santana, noting that the latter's "self-assured lyrics have broken barriers of inclusivity in the hip-hop community."
"With these two cultural icons, we hope to empower a new generation of young voters to get involved in this and future elections," he said.
The BLK dating application did not immediately respond to The Christian Post's request for comment.
Some, particularly on the conservative side of the political aisle, feel the video's approach to communicating with young black voters was sexually exploitative and demeaning.
Delano Squires, a research fellow at the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation's Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Life, Religion, and Family, thought the message promoted in the video is insulting to black people.
"Every black person in America should feel insulted by politicians who want our votes but refuse to appeal to our values," he wrote in a statement to CP. "They employ media companies, pollsters, and artists who use sex to coerce black people into voting because they don't respect our intellect."
Advocate Patrina Mosley, who previously worked with the National Center on Sexual Exploitation and the Family Research Council, voiced similar disagreements with the video.
She believes it is a form of "disrespect" against black voters and said Obama should do more to condemn the video's content, even if her voting initiative was not involved in its creation.
"The spokesperson vowed not to comment on it further, which is a shame because you would think such a prominent black woman would want to speak out and disassociate herself from anything that degrades and disrespects her people," Mosley wrote in a statement to CP.
Penny Nance, CEO and president of the public policy organization Concerned Women for America, said she understands the importance of encouraging voters to participate in their civic duty, but she disapproved of the video's approach.
"But to accomplish this goal with an appeal to obscenity and sexual exploitation is tragic," Nance, who is white, told CP. "Sexualizing voting as a voter turnout tactic is a sick commentary on those promoting it."
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: [email protected].
