00:00The Calypso Fiesta semifinals are done, but definitely not dusted, as some Calypsoans have taken to social media to produce
00:08copies of their scores, further questioning some of the decisions made by certain judges.
00:13Amid a cloud of alleged bias and corrupt practices looming, president of the Trinbago Unified Calypsoans organization Ainsley King is
00:22seeking to clear the air.
00:23Firstly, he tells us that any Calypsoanian can access their master sheet, which contains a breakdown of their scores, by
00:30going through the process.
00:32Can you say what the process is?
00:34You have to pay $500 to receive the sheet.
00:38Would the media be open to get a copy of that sheet?
00:42No, those sheets will be given to the contestants, not to the media.
00:47Roderick Chuck Gordon and Adelon Brave Boy, commonly known as Bangella, have released their scores, with Gordon saying, quote,
00:54I ain't gonna lie, the semifinal result rel her to know, while I understand the judge's decision is final.
01:00The discrepancies in the marking, boy, wow, end quote.
01:05I cannot speak on judges, and that to me is not something that is abnormal.
01:10It is not, I don't see that as something that happens, because you're dealing with people who see what they
01:17respond to what they see and how they interpret it.
01:21Information being circulated to the media points to one of the judges being switched out on the night of the
01:26competition for another judge,
01:28who allegedly has ties to one of the performers, including being their songwriter.
01:33I am now hearing that.
01:36Judging have nothing to do with the executive.
01:38We select, what I would say, a group of judges, right?
01:45We have them, and they go through a training process, and we have a head of that committee, and they
01:51are basically independent.
01:52And there's a reason for that.
01:54There's a reason for that, right?
01:55So, to avoid what we are being accused of right now.
01:59But if a judge was removed on the night and switched out with another judge, shouldn't Tuco be informed of
02:05such a decision?
02:06The judge, well, the thing is, if it is discovered late that one of the judge may not be a
02:15judge that a contestant is comfortable with, that process could take place at any time.
02:21However, King states that he has received no reports about such an incident.
02:25I am hearing all these things coming from the media, right?
02:29That was not reported formally by the judges' committee.
02:33Among the hailstorm of accusations is a voice note, where King is heard saying that Rosalyn was surfacing,
02:40but her circumstances were holding her back, further suggesting that he can help her.
02:45Well, with Bangella publicly posting that he has, quote-unquote,
02:51conversations of someone who wants to secure a certain Calypsoian place in the finals,
02:55TV6 News put that voice no ticking as well.
03:03All right, so that's somebody, that was on a plane three years, two years ago.
03:08Two years ago, so that cannot be, and that was me being concerned, coming to Trinidad to take up the
03:14president's role,
03:15and was actually having a conversation with one of my, well, close core member,
03:21as to who we could consider supporting to be the president or the chairman of the Tobago Zone.
03:28So that has nothing to do with our competition today.
03:32King adds that Tuco has been dominated by males,
03:35and he was passionate about seeing women advance in the organization.
03:39Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
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