Montreal puppet show organizers apologize after inappropriate song played

MONTREAL — Organizers of a Montreal-area puppet show found themselves apologizing to the public after a song about prison rape was performed during a family-friendly show where children were present.

They said a series of errors led to the song, “Prison Bitch,” being played during the open-air festival in the Verdun borough last weekend.

“We sincerely regret the discomfort experienced by the parents who were present, as well as for having lacked vigilance over the entire contents of our show,” Promenade Wellington said in a statement.

A video posted online shows several children watching and one dancing along to the song as two puppeteers manipulate a puppet onstage.

Ronit Milo, who posted the video after attending the show with her three-year-old son, said she was surprised the song was chosen for an all-ages event.

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“There was no disclaimer before the performance that there would be any adult content,” she told The Canadian Press on Wednesday.

She said her son was too young to understand the song’s lyrics and she was satisfied by the festival’s response.

In a lengthy statement apologizing for the incident, the organizers promised to pay more attention to their programming choices.

“For future editions, we will make sure the selected shows will be presented in appropriate locations,” it read. “We will show greater vigilance and tighter constraints over what content will be presented to which members of the public.”

The group that presented the skit also posted a message on Facebook apologizing for the incident.

Cabaret Decadanse said the show is usually performed for an adult audience and that it  was sorry if the lyrics offended anyone.

The Canadian Press