Beyonce has come under fire for using the voice of NASA public affairs officer Steve Nesbitt’s voice, who was the public voice detailing the flight of the Challenger as it rose and then disintegrated, on the beginning of her song “XO.” The Challenger space shuttle broke apart 73 seconds after the launch of its tenth mission killing all seven of it’s crew.
June Scobee Rodgers, the widow of Challenger space shuttle commander Dick Scobee, told ABC: “We were disappointed to learn that an audio clip from the day we lost our heroic Challenger crew was used in the song ‘XO.’ The moment included in this song is an emotionally difficult one for the Challenger families, colleagues and friends. We have always chosen to focus not on how our loved ones were lost, but rather on how they lived and how their legacy lives on today.”
Former NASA employee Keith Cowing added: “This choice of historic and solemn audio is inappropriate in the extreme. The choice is little different than taking Walter Cronkite’s words to viewers announcing the death of President Kennedy or 911 calls from the World Trade Center attack and using them for shock value in a pop tune.”
Beyonce responded to the controversy, saying:
“My heart goes out to the families of those lost in the Challenger disaster. The song ‘XO’ was recorded with the sincerest intention to help heal those who have lost loved ones and to remind us that unexpected things happen, so love and appreciate every minute that you have with those who mean the most to you. “The songwriters included the audio in tribute to the unselfish work of the Challenger crew with hope that they will never be forgotten.”
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