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Can being naked be considered free speech? Hundreds strip off for nude photos

American artist, Spencer Tunick, once argued that being naked can be considered as free speech. On Monday, he pushed through with his position when around 500 people braved the Australian winter to pose for a series of controversial nude photographs on top of a Melbourne parking lot

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American artist, Spencer Tunick, once argued that being naked can be considered as free speech. On Monday, he pushed through with his position when around 500 people braved the Australian winter to pose for a series of controversial nude photographs on top of a Melbourne parking lot.

The photo shoot, organized by Tunick, held Monday morning in temperatures of approximately 48 degrees Fahrenheit. It comes just weeks after supermarket chain Woolworths reversed its decision to ban the event from its premises.

Woolworths had initially denied access to its branch in Melbourne’s Prahran neighborhood, citing inconvenience to weekend shoppers. But following public outcry and a high-profile petition, the supermarket last month agreed to host the shoot on condition that it was rescheduled for a quieter Monday timeslot.

A Woolworths spokesperson said that the retailer was “very supportive of the Provocaré Festival of the Arts and the Chapel Street community in which we operate,” attributing the U-turn to festival organizers’ flexibility regarding the timing of the shoot.

Speaking to CNN ahead of Monday’s photo shoot, Tunick praised the decision.

“It’s very rare for a corporation… to be part of something where the body is nude — it’s almost impossible,” he said in a phone interview. “So it’s very brave moment for something like this to happen, when (other) corporations are restricting the body and freedom.”

Read Also: Egypt builds world’s largest museum

Tunick has made his name coordinating more than 120 large-scale nude photos in public spaces around the world, from Munich to Mexico City. The latter stunt attracted a reported 18,000 naked participants. The artist said that being naked in public can “be considered free speech.”

“People want a sense of freedom when it comes to their bodies and public space — that governments … and corporations don’t own your body,” he added.

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Culture

#JusticeForAKA becomes most trending hashtags as South African celebrities seek answers to murder of rapper

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The hashtag, #JusticeForAKA, created shortly after the murder of South African rapper, Kiernan Jarryd Forbes, popularly known as AKA, outside a Durban restaurant last month, has become the number one trending hashtags in the country.

Top celebrities and fans of the much loved rapper have been retweeting the hashtag with a collective outrage as the case seems to be getting cold six weeks after his gruesome killing with the police seeming not to make any headway in apprehending the killers.

According to IOL, since AKA’s murder, the hashtag #JusticeForAKA has become a rallying cry by his colleagues and fans for the government and police officials to prioritise his case and make sure that his killers are promptly brought to justice.

“Since Thursday, the hashtag has been trending across South African Twitter as fans and celebrities express their disappointment at the situation,” the authoritative media outlet wrote.

“Over the past 24 hours, the likes of L-Tido, Rouge and Wanda Baloyi have joined thousands of fans in calling for justice,” IOL wrote.

One of the country’s top stars, L-Tido posted on his Twitter handle:

“It’s been a month and half still no developments and progress on this case. This happened right next to the police station, on a busy road with cameras. Our justice system keeps on failing us!!!! This is ridiculous #JusticeForAKA.”

Musician Wanda Baloyi also weighed in:

“It really baffles me how there is no progress towards the findings of the killers. I mean they pretty much weren’t disguised. What exactly is the delay?”

“I don’t understand. So killing is easy, you just kill and walk away?? Im not understanding #JusticeForAKA”
— Wanda Baloyi (@wandabaloyi)

Rapper Rouge also commented on the issue with this post:

“Yoh Kiernan was in love with the Art. I’m still in disbelief. He seemed immortal. But I guess that’s what his music has done now. Immortalised his legacy. #JusticeForAKA.”

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Nigerian superstar, Rema’s song, ‘Calm Down’ sets new African record on Billboard Hot 100

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Nigeria singing sensation, Rema who birth name is Divine Ikubor, has once again, entered the record books as his hit single, “Calm Down”, is now the highest charting African song on the Billboard Hot 100.

Authoritative music chart platform, Chart Data, on Wednesday, reported that the international remix of “Calm Down” featuring Selena Gomez, broke the records after it appeared at number 8 on the latest Billboard Hot 100.

The good news means that “Calm Down” has surpassed Wizkid’s “Essence” remix which featured Tems and Justin Bieber, as the highest charting African song on Billboard Hot 100, and “continues to make its mark as one of the biggest crossover Afrobeats song in history.”

“Calm Down” which was released in February 2022, is one of the lead singles on Rema’s debut album “Raves & Roses” and has enjoyed impressive success both locally and globally.

The remix with Gomez has also further propelled it to huge international success.

It is also ranked as the most-watched Nigerian music video on YouTube, surpassing over 230 million views as at Thursday, as well as getting over a billion streams across all platforms.

The single also earned Rema its first RIAA platinum plaque with expected sales of over two million units, according to Chart Data forecasts.

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