‘Nuttin But Azz’ basketball tournament canceled at NJ high school after ‘absolutely horrible’ promo video (2024)

New Jersey school officials canceled a basketball event at an area high school after a shocking promotional video featuring twerking women in thongs was released on social media.

The “Nuttin’ But Azz” tournament with celebrity music manager Big Fendi was originally scheduled to be held on July 21 at West Side High School in Newark, N.J. It was abruptly canceled after a promotional video sparked outrage, prompting an apology from Big Fendi, condemnation by the school board, a Neward councilman, and even the local NAACP.

With tickets for the event ranging from $50 to $500, it was billed as an “NBA Celebrity Baddies Basketball Game,” according to its invitation online.

But Newark school officials pulled the plug after learning that it wasn’t the kind of community basketball tournament they thought it was after the vulgar video was posted.

A man in a striped referee shirt is seen in the video as the women parade out onto the court and deliver a veritable chorus line of twerking moves as the camera pans by. Though the video was removed from Instagram where it had been posted, it was shared on Facebook by shocked parents and others.

Newark Councilman Dupré Kelly emphasized that he did not authorize the event even though he helped secure the venue, TAPintoNewark reported.

“It is common for residents and community groups to contact their council member’s office for assistance when they are unfamiliar with a particular process or are concerned,” Kelly said. “In this situation, an inquiry was made by my office to the Newark Public Schools (NPS) on behalf of a credible community partner asking about the availability and costs. NPS confirmed the availability of West Side High School on the date specified.”

“The promotion video that was filmed was absolutely horrible and was not authorized by Newark Public Schools or the West Ward Councilman’s Office,” Kelly declared. “As a councilman and as a father, I would never allow this type of content to be filmed in any of our schools, and I don’t agree or promote it in any way.”

“It is my standard practice to review the details of any event proposed by my staff or a community partner wishing for me to co-sponsor,” he added. “If I agree, I authorize a hold harmless (agreement) to be drafted, and approve the promotion and budget for the event. These steps were not taken because I would never authorize such an event.”

Big Fendi issued an apology on Instagram.

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“We were doing an event and then, you know, things went a little left, and out of control, and I take full responsibility for that, cause you guys had no knowledge of what these girls would be wearing in this celebrity game,” the celebrity music manager credited with discovering Nicki Minaj, said in the video.

“I want to apologize to the parents, to the students, for affecting anyone, and anybody else that was involved, and my deepest apologies,” Big Fendi added. “Hopefully this helps.”

The organizer of the event “should be banned,” according to the president of the NAACP’s Newark Branch who lamented thatthe community did not need “that type of exposure.”

“It should not have gotten to the point where they felt comfortable being able to sell tickets or do a promotion,” Deborah Smith Gregory told TAPintoNewark.

“That is not what we need in our community. We do not need that type of exposure to young people in our schools. We do not need that type of exposure to adults,” she said.

“The organizer should be banned from getting any kind of support for any future activities,” Smith Gregory added. “That’s how serious it should be, because that’s not thinking about the betterment of our community. It’s just thinking about ‘what can I do to make money.’”

Nancy J. Deering, the school board communications director, told NJ.com that“No school or district official was aware of the video until it was posted on social media.”

“This was supposed to be a community basketball event sponsored by Councilman Kelly. No school or district official approved the activity depicted in the video or knew that an event at one of our schools would include such activity,” she added.

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