Once again, Dancehall luminary, Shaggy has come under heavy scrutiny for not keeping his promise to the Bustamante Hospital for Children. In 2018, the Shaggy and Friends Foundation staged a concert on the lawns of Jamaica House and promised to hand over $100 million of the proceeds to the Bustamante Hospital for Children ICU. Well, it has been four years, and all the hospital got from Shaggy is a symbolic check.
Trending in Jamaica News: Should Shaggy get a pass for bad behavior?
Once again, Dancehall luminary, Shaggy has come under heavy scrutiny for not keeping his promise to the Bustamante Hospital for Children. In 2018, the Shaggy and Friends Foundation staged a concert on the lawns of Jamaica House and promised to hand over $100 million of the proceeds to the Bustamante Hospital for Children ICU. Well, it has been four years, and all the hospital got from Shaggy is a symbolic check.
It is bothersome to me that a highly respected artist like Shaggy would place himself in such a sticky situation where his reputation is at stake. But even more irritating is the willingness of many Jamaicans to give Shaggy a pass for bad behavior. Recently, in responding to a post on social media, I wrote the following:
“Fire fi Shaggy. It takes less than four years to disburse funds collected on behalf of a charity. The money was initially designated to benefit the Bustamante Hospital for Children ICU. However, shaggy dragged his feet for one year, and the Gleaner got involved and ran a story. Finally, the artist smooths things over, and the public buys his story. Still, nothing changed for another two years. So, while Shaggy dragged his feet, another Charity stepped in and filled the ICU’s need. But the hospital thinks it should get the money regardless, but Shaggy frowns. The Gleaner ran another story, and big-mouth Tufton got involved. Now, there is a dispute over what to do with the money. Shaggy is a big letdown. But I hope the money is in the bank as he claimed. Because if he gets audited and the funds are not accounted for, he would be in serious problem.”
Jamaican Gazette
Apparently, what I wrote did not sit well with one of Shaggy’s sycophants, so he wrote the following:
“So the one-time things never work out smoothly; Shaggy is a big letdown? Shaggy has been donating since 2001 to that hospital and hosting the concert since 2009, and the one time this happened, he is a letdown? Yuh bawn back a cow? How yuh suh illiterate? How much big money yuh ever donate to anything inna yuh life? Yuh chat too much bredda.”
I took the high road and responded as follows:
“My friend, I am not going down the illiterate path with you. You are mad because I called out your favorite artist for failing to keep a promise he made to the Jamaican people almost five years ago. I do not hate Shaggy. I hate that he has given the Bustamante Hospital for Children the run-around for four years, and people like you think it’s ok. Nobody held a gun to Shaggy’s head when he pledged to donate $100 million to the hospital.”