Henry County officials upset about rap video shot in courthouse

HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — A rapper shot a music video inside the Henry County Courthouse, and neighbors and county officials are not happy about it.

Yo Gotti shot the profanity-laced video for "Law" last month, but the county manager and board of commissioners say they never gave permission to shoot inside the courthouse.

Neighbors say they don’t like the language used in the video.

“Wow. Is that how we want to represent our community?” business owner Annette O’Banion said.

County Manager Lyndon Bonner says he’s watched the video and he believes that it doesn’t represent Henry County.

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"Clearly, it does not represent the standards of what's Henry County," he said.

Bonner said his office never authorized the production.

“It was not authorized by the Board of County Commissioners, nor my office,” he said.

McDonough City Council member Sandra Vincent says she helped facilitate the production, but didn’t see a script and didn’t know what the content would be.

“I don’t like the language that was used,” she said.

County leaders want the film industry to stay in the area, but are working on an official policy to decide which productions get the green light.

“Had anybody been on the use side of it (and) said, ‘We saw this, saw the actors in the proposal,’ it most likely wouldn’t have been permitted,” Bonner said.

O’Banion said she supports art and expression, but believes it does not belong in a taxpayer-funded building.

“I was offended by the language because it’s not my thing. I realize it’s an art expression, and I realize this kind of music is out there,” she said. “If I had children, do I want them to listen to it? Nope.”

In two weeks, Yo Gotti’s video has been viewed more than 2.5 million times on YouTube.

Cox Media Group