Ali B cancels talk amid fears of media spectacle

Rapper and convicted rapist Ali B has pulled out of a business event where he was supposed to be speaking on Thursday in Vinkeveen. The Missing Pieces entrepreneurial event has also been postponed until a later date.

“Due to the exceptionally large number of media applications for the Missing Pieces event, the evening is in danger of becoming a media spectacle. That is at odds with what this meeting is meant for,” reads a joint statement by the rapper and Missing Pieces on the latter’s website. “Therefore, we [Missing Pieces and Ali] have jointly decided to move the event.”

Ali B, or Ali Bouali, was booked, said the website, to speak about “why most entrepreneurs do not break through, despite their talent”.

But following Ali B’s three-year sentence for two rapes in May, including the 2014 rape of Dutch singer Ellen ten Damme, the resulting media interest made the event untenable, Missing Pieces said.

“The whole point was for the evening to be about entrepreneurship, without his personal situation being up for discussion,” reads the joint statement. “Due to the scale of the media attention, it is not feasible at this time.”

The activist group Dolle Mina had also announced a protest at The Harbour Club in Vinkeveen, where the event was scheduled to take place.

The 44-year-old rapper, who has denied all the charges, has appealed to the Supreme Court against the verdict – the highest form of appeal. Ali B has remained free for the years it’s taken his case to wend its way through the courts and will remain so while his appeal is ongoing.

Ticket holders will be able to attend the rescheduled event or get their money back.