Dancehall Star Tanya Stephens Blasts Jamaican PM After ‘Corner Shop’ Remarks
Boom Wuk artist Tanya Stephens launched another broadside at Prime Minister Andrew Holness, days after he stated in the House of Representatives that he could not be shut up by anyone.
Stephens, who said in an earlier post that she had voted twice for Holness in the 2012 and then the 2016 General Elections, but abstained from last year’s as she had lost confidence in him, and was unimpressed by his opponent Dr. Peter Phillips, has intensified her berating of the PM over the last two weeks after he made his now infamous ‘corner shop and big gill’ comments, during a Jamaica Observer interview.
Writing under a video post of Holness, which she shared on Instagram, she took umbrage to his comments made on Tuesday in the House of Representatives, amid criticisms of his ‘corner shop statements’.
In the video, Holness, among other things, stated that “if anyone believes that by dint of the loudness of their voice, or their popularity, that they are going to shut up this Prime Minista from telling the country the truth… think again!”
Stephens subsequently referred to the late former Prime Minister Edward Seaga who made several failed attempts to reclaim the Prime Ministerial post after being ousted in the 1989 General Elections, implying that Holness could suffer the same fate.
“Seaga got louder cheers than you and Jamaica tie him out fi eat grass,” she wrote.
“If you believe that by dint of the loud and oblivious ones behind you citizens of this country are going to shut up you are gravely out of touch with reality. That is your JOB and you answer to the people,” Stephens added in her castigation of Holness.
“Stay deh mek dem ppl deh fool you. All me a tell you… Stop tell lie say poor people a spread corona and have a little humility and go apologize to your voters,” the Handle di Ride Singer demanded.
The St. Mary native then drew for an old Jamaican expression often used by parents of wayward children and teenagers to further her reprimand of Holness.
“Smell ur arm n think a charm?” she wrote, then added: “Big dance a keep a tax office, bank, supermarket, bus stop/taxi stand worse cause now people a bruk dem neck fi reach home in way less hours. Yet a one socioeconomic group you point finger pon everytime…”
Stephens, a Billboard-charting artist, also accused the PM of being hypocritical and unfair, as he had turned a blind eye to the fact that wealthy residents who were flouting the Disaster Risk management Act with impunity, were not being carted off to jail, as opposed to poor Jamaicans elsewhere on the island.
“Bout misinformation and a you a spread it with your likkle faux confidence. Covid cyaa spread a Christmas party???? Oonu fling any upper crust brunch patrons inna truck back? Rules which don’t apply to all have no credibility to any,” she stated.
In another post, Stephens scolded the PM and blamed him for failing to, among other things close Jamaica’s borders at the outset of the pandemic, instead allowing those she described as “the privileged” to wantonly enter the island.
“So far the corona hotbeds, the petri dishes, the infestations reported in countless news articles… HAVE NOT BEEN GHETTOS. HAVE NOT INDICATED A SPREAD BY POOR PEOPLE in the beginning it was people of privilege WHO INSISTED they must come to Jamaica whether to return home or to visit. The PM didn’t have the foresight to close the borders. THAT’S HOW COVID GOT HERE,” she said.
“It bruk out inna uptown party, call center, it a swim round inna NHT. One a oonu weh love bumboclaat chat tell me WHICH poor ppl place have an influx of confirmed or even suspected cases or deaths. STOP MALIGN POOR PEOPLE. That’s all me a bloodclaat say. Just…STOP. Stop criminalize people a try fi carry on with life,” she said.
She also denounced some politicians affiliated with Holness’ Jamaica Labour Party who had distributed spiced buns during the Easter season with their photographs and the party colours emblazoned on the boxes and condemned the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 vaccination PR campaign.
“Oonu give them bun with oonu picture pon it… How much mask that coulda f__ck buy??? You know If the people have money fi buy mask? How many masks could the millions spent on ministry of health PR buy? Right now you can’t get a ct scan at kph because a machine need a part. The PR money couldn’t buy that? STOP TELL LIE PON POOR PEOPLE,” she continued.
On another post she demanded that Jamaicans demand that the Prime Minister take responsibility for his actions in order for him to carry out his duties in a proper manner, as expected of him.
“Hold the man accountable. THAT ALONE a go improve him performance. What the f-ck wrong with holding public servants accountable????” she wrote.
On another post she re-emphasized that the lock-down measures were inhibiting Jamaicans of a lower socio-economic class from earing a proper living, reiterating her initial stance made last year in an expletive-laced monologue at the outset of the pandemic.
“I’m not saying there should be no measures I’m saying the classism, hypocrisy, convenient bouts of sobriety, economic discrimination are not measures to end covid. They are measures to further marginalise poor people,” she said.
She also took aim at devotees of Holness who she indicated were defending him even when his errors of his ways were plain to see, hurling expletives their way.
“Make me a list of every covid scandal so far and tell me WHERE THEY HAPPENED. Who caught it… I want you all to f__king think. If Tom does not have covid 19 and Tom goes to the corner store without a mask can Tom POSSIBLY spread covid to the other 3 people there??? If Karen HAS covid 19 and wears a mask, sneezes and some of the spittle hits the air in Pricemart… how safe are the patrons at that bumboclaat frowzy rub up????” she wrote.
“Oonu a some f__k eediat. Plain. Gwaan defend bro gad. A oonu a go be him downfall like the p_ssy dem weh did a pretend say the emperor clothes trendy… F__cking dense,” she added.