Akon banned from Sri Lanka

The R&B singer was refused entry after he offended...

11:44 24 March 2010

Singer Akon has been denied entry into Sri Lanka after protests took place to prohibit the star's arrival in to the country.

The R&B artist allegedly offended Buddhists in a recent music video, causing unrest.

Akon had been due to in Sri Lanka on April 24, but the countryÂ’s director general of information, Anusha Pelpita confirmed that his visa had been denied.

"The government has taken into consideration the sensibilities of the Buddhists who have been offended by one of his videos which showed scantily clad women dancing in front of a Buddha statue." Pelpita said.

The video in question is for the David Guetta  produced track 'Sexy Chick' in which a group of women dressed in bikinis dance around a sacred Buddhist statue, causing outrage among the Buddhist community.

Thousands of people protested in the country's capital, Colombo, earlier in the week (March 23), claiming the singer desecrated the image of Buddha

Protesters hurled stones and other objects at the offices of the Maharaja Organisation – who were sponsoring the Colombo concert the star was due to sing – injuring four workers. Police later arrested several of the protesters.

Akon outraged an audience in Trinidad last year when he reportedly simulated a sexual act when dancing with a 14-year-old girl onstage. The R&B star later issued an apology for his actions, saying he didn't realise she was under 18.

However, he is not the only star to have offended religious followers. Earlier in the year, singer Cheryl Cole allegedly angered Hindus when she resembled the goddess Kali in her video for 'Parachute'.