The words of Weston Rawlins’ 2023 calypso “Another Sat is Outside Again” that are claimed to be disparaging to businessman Ishan Ishmael have been removed from the song.
The phrases were indeed ordered to be erased during an urgent hearing held before Justice Frank Seepersad on Saturday afternoon.
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Rawlins, a former calypso king, promoted his act for the Naparima Bowl in San Fernando on Saturday night and Government Plaza in Port of Spain on Sunday.
Despite not performing the 2023 calypso, Seepersad claimed that Rawlins was no “one-hit wonder” and that fans would still enjoy his appearance.
The defendant must be prohibited from performing his calypso “Another Sat is Outside Again” until “the imputed offending portions of same are deleted,” the judge noted. Adding that there would be a larger danger of unfairness if the injunctive remedy were denied.
But he said that it was up to Rawlins whether he wanted to change the song before performing it. “He has a creative license, what he is not permitted to do is to continue with the dissemination of the song in the form which has been brought before the court and to which issue has been taken,” he remarked.
The judge issued a strong warning, stating that any violations of the court order would be dealt with harshly and would last until the trial or until further directed.
He continued, “The court holds the view that there is a serious issue to be tried and it cannot be said, at this stage, that the claimant’s case is doomed to fail or that it is unlikely that he would succeed at the trial.”
Seepersad studied the law throughout the hearing and provided the parties’ counsel with a chance to provide arguments.
In court records, Ishmael’s lawyer Nigel Trancoso, acting on the advice of Richard Jaggasar, asked the judge to issue an injunction prohibiting Rawlins, his employees, or agents from performing, redistributing, publishing, or disseminating the music.
Trancoso demanded that the hearing be interrupted so that the play could end. He predicted that his client’s name will be assassinated at the performance.
Kareem Marcelle, a lawyer representing Rawlins, requested that the case be dismissed and that the court grant the right to free speech on behalf of senior counsel Gilbert Peterson. Additionally, he claimed that the claimant’s counsel had failed to persuade the court that an injunction should be issued.
