Wal-Mart Pulls Prodigy Album

Tue., Dec. 9, 1997

The Hollywood Reporter

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the nation’s largest retailer, has pulled Maverick Records’ Prodigy album, “Fat of the Land,” from the shelves of its 2,300 stores because of objectionable lyrics on the group’s latest single, “Smack My Bitch Up.”

Sources said this is apparently the first time the retailer has yanked an album after it had already been on the shelves. In addition, sources said Kmart also pulled the record from its 2,100 stores Friday.

The album has been on sale since June and has already sold 2 million copies in the United States. Even so, the decision will have an impact on future sales because the company is one of the nation’s largest sellers of records, and the Christmas shopping season is in full swing.

Wal-Mart removed the album Friday after a report last week published by the Los Angeles Times that said the president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Organization for Women called the song “a dangerous and offensive message advocating violence against women.”

Sources said that NOW was unaware of the song until the Times called the women’s group and alerted it.

Warner Bros. Records, which owns half of Maverick Records, slammed the Times article, saying there had been no negative feedback to “Smack My Bitch Up.” The single, which was released last week, is the third from the group’s latest release. Warner Bros. continues to back the song, which Prodigy said has nothing to do with violence toward women.

Janice Rocco, president of the Los Angeles chapter of NOW, said her organization intends to request a meeting with the top brass at Time Warner. Executives at Time Warner have agreed to a meeting.

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