# So what was wrong with Avril's shirt? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 24, 2003, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-wrong-with-avrils-shirt/157206 "2003-02-24T18:34:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-wrong-with-avrils-shirt/157206/1 "2003-02-24T18:34:39Z")
We were watching the Grammy Awards last night and noticed something odd about Avril Lavigne’s performance. She opened her act by holding her jacket wide open toward the audience. The director, however, chose to show her back, so we couldn’t see what she was doing. During the performance, they carefully blurred her chest. You really had to pay attention to notice that something was wrong. (If you taped it, look at her necklace – the pendant appears and disappears.) So anyway, strictly out of curiosity 😉 , what was on her shirt? Did it have some obscene word? Was it a political statement? Was it her boobs 😃 ??? Inquiring minds want to know. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-wrong-with-avrils-shirt/157206/2 "2003-02-24T18:53:38Z")
I don’t know … the Yahoo! News pics do seem a bit blurred (at the top–the nipple line, as it were). They come up on a general search: [http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news?c=&p=grammy+avril](http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news?c=&p=grammy+avril) And here are the actual pics: [http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/030224/168/3cece.html](http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/030224/168/3cece.html) [http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/030224/168/3cebt.html](http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/030224/168/3cebt.html) [http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/030224/170/3cea2.html](http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/030224/170/3cea2.html) The blur seems more noticeable in the thumbnail shots (on the general search page), so definitely take a look at that. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-wrong-with-avrils-shirt/157206/3 "2003-02-24T18:55:46Z")
Here’s another–the inside of her blazer says “Rock on” ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-wrong-with-avrils-shirt/157206/4 "2003-02-24T18:55:50Z")
Here’s another–the inside of her blazer says “Rock on” [http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/030224/170/3ce1u.html](http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/030224/170/3ce1u.html) ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-wrong-with-avrils-shirt/157206/5 "2003-02-24T19:01:02Z")
Here’s the story: [http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/news/nation/5248250.htm](http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/news/nation/5248250.htm) > [@](#): > > Another moment of drama was provided by Avril Lavigne - almost. As her band tore into her hit “Sk8ter Boi,” the 18-year-old Canadian singer, a five-time nominee who won nothing, held open her coat and the cameras showed only her back - surely a sign producers thought she was wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with a political message under her jacket. **She wasn’t.** The scaredy-cat producers just cut away out of fear of a political message. After all, she’s a _Canadian_. ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-wrong-with-avrils-shirt/157206/6 "2003-02-24T19:09:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by toadspittle \* > \*\*The scaredy-cat producers just cut away out of fear of a political message. After all, she’s a _Canadian_. \*\* :dubious: Do you know who Neil Young is? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-wrong-with-avrils-shirt/157206/7 "2003-02-24T19:29:29Z")
**So What Was Wrong With Avril Levigne’s Shirt?** It had Avril Levigne in it. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-wrong-with-avrils-shirt/157206/8 "2003-02-24T19:58:37Z")
Maybe it said, “ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US.” Sorry, sorry… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-wrong-with-avrils-shirt/157206/9 "2003-02-24T19:58:46Z")
But the middle finger patch on her back was okay… :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![NoGoodNamesLeft](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8797f3/32.png) [@NoGoodNamesLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoGoodNamesLeft)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-wrong-with-avrils-shirt/157206/10 "2003-02-24T20:09:29Z")
So if it was nothing, what’s with the blurs? The photos do look blurred, and I haven’t seen the video but if you can see her pendant going in and out of the blurred area, what was it covering? On the other hand, how would they even blur it? Isn’t that something that’s normally done to a videotape in post production? I can’t imagine the logistics in doing this to a live feed. -Even with a generous delay. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-wrong-with-avrils-shirt/157206/11 "2003-02-24T20:12:52Z")
Maybe it was like a mirage, and it was shimmering from the heat haze because she is so hot… Okay, probably not. ---
**Author:** ![Dignan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@Dignan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dignan)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-wrong-with-avrils-shirt/157206/12 "2003-02-24T20:32:27Z")
What could producers possibly have been worried about? Did they expect her to be wearing a shirt that said: Skateboarding is not a crime? How could anything an 18 year-old Canadian have something on her shirt that would be so subversive it would need to be censored? Didn’t Eminem have a shirt saying to “free” someone? And who was the name on Eminem’s shirt? The latest Mumia type cause that celebs are endorsing? And how lame was the little crowd of people in front of the stage jumping around to create “atmosphere” during her performance? ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-wrong-with-avrils-shirt/157206/13 "2003-02-24T20:37:04Z")
This is interesting. Who would have thought that the producers would be worried about Avril’s clothing? I mean, of all the people to worry about, they pick Avril?? ---
**Author:** ![NoGoodNamesLeft](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8797f3/32.png) [@NoGoodNamesLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoGoodNamesLeft)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-wrong-with-avrils-shirt/157206/14 "2003-02-24T20:44:12Z")
That’s just it…a punk 18 year old who would love to do something to grab a headline. Of course, God forbid they say on TV what millions around the world are already saying… They were put on ‘vigilante watch’ by the network. There were concerns all night about people using the TV cameras to make a plitical statement a la Richard Gere. ---
**Author:** ![NYR407](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@NYR407](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NYR407)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-wrong-with-avrils-shirt/157206/15 "2003-02-24T20:46:10Z")
I am pretty sure she had some message inside her coat. When she took it off during her act it looked as if there was big white letters on the inside. If you also noiticed they censored M&M’s dirty word in his rap. However earlier during 60 Minutes they allowed LA Police Commisioner Bratton to say Bulls\*\*t without censor. Seems like a double standard. ---
**Author:** ![NYR407](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@NYR407](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NYR407)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-wrong-with-avrils-shirt/157206/16 "2003-02-24T20:48:44Z")
DOH!!! I just looked at the Yahho link and realize that is what it showed. Sorry toadspittle I read your post but it didn’t sink in either. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Philosopher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ec8ea/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Philosopher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Philosopher)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-wrong-with-avrils-shirt/157206/17 "2003-02-24T21:38:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dignan \* > \*\*How could anything an 18 year-old Canadian have something on her shirt that would be so subversive it would need to be censored? Didn’t Eminem have a shirt saying to “free” someone? And who was the name on Eminem’s shirt? The latest Mumia type cause that celebs are endorsing? \*\* “Free Yayo”, referring to Tony Yayo: a member of a group called G Unit, that he recently signed to his record label, and who I think were arrested around Christmas for leaving their car double-parked outside a club, with one guns clearly visible on the floor and another in the trunk. I’m not sure, but I presume he’s still in jail. Not only that, but ‘yayo’ is slang for marijuana. So if that’s not censored, I don’t know what message Avril could have had written on her chest/coat… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Philosopher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ec8ea/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Philosopher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Philosopher)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-wrong-with-avrils-shirt/157206/18 "2003-02-24T21:50:06Z")
:smack: That should’ve read: ‘…G Unit, that he recently signed to his record label, _who_ I think were arrested…’ “one _gun_…” ---
**Author:** ![KarmaComa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e36b37/32.png) [@KarmaComa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarmaComa)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2003, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-wrong-with-avrils-shirt/157206/19 "2003-02-25T00:38:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Great Philosopher \* > \*\*Not only that, but ‘yayo’ is slang for marijuana. So if that’s not censored, I don’t know what message Avril could have had written on her chest/coat… \*\* Yayo was cocaine last time I heard it… I mean, that was 5 years ago but I’d imagine it’s still the same thing… Mind you, kids (including Eminem) will call any drug just about anything, present company included. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2003, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-wrong-with-avrils-shirt/157206/20 "2003-02-25T01:17:27Z")
Just FYI - yayo is how llello is pronounced. 'Tis Spanish. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-wrong-with-avrils-shirt/157206.md?page=2)