Poison Nudity At The Fair

Video containing shots of topless women shown during a Poison concert at an Oregon county fair August 9th offended enough attendees for the fair promoter to ask for the band’s apology.

"I’m upset and dumbfounded that after years of booking Poison, they would think that such a video at a fair was appropriate," said TBA Global’s Fran Romeo in an e-mail to the director of the Douglas County Fairgrounds in Roseburg, Ore. "No one was aware that it was going to be shown." She has asked for the band’s personal apology.

She said it was the first time she’s received a complaint about the group’s performance in the 20 times she’s booked them for fairs.

APA, which books Poison, also apologized for the video.

"We are deeply sorry for any hurt or embarrassment Poison’s use of a particular video caused you or the fair," wrote Bonnie Sugarman, APA’s senior VP, in an e-mail to Romeo, according to the region’s News-Review. "Please assure everyone that we stress audience awareness to our acts, and being ‘fair friendly’ is one of our main criteria. Being a rock band, Poison obviously used their ‘artistic license’ to present the show as they saw fit and in the process offended some people."

The incident was first brought up publicly at the August 15th meeting of the county’s board of commissioners, at which one commissioner said the video was just one of several "disturbing things" that happened at the fair, the paper said.