The National Constitution Center, an institution standing behind a "We The People" mentality, did not allow a scheduled video taped performance of a 14-year-old singer be played during a ceremony honoring Malala Yousafzai after the Nobel prize winner's advisors said the song was offensive, according to Philly.com.
Pop singer Ayla Potamkin, a Colorado girl with deep Philadelphia roots, wrote a song to honor the 17-year-old Pakistani human-rights activist, but that song was pulled from the ceremony where Yousafzai was honored with a Liberty Medal, Philly.com reported.
Yousafzai's advisors told Constitution Center officials the song had to be pulled because it was too pro-America, and they agreed and pulled it from the ceremony, according to Philly.com.
The advisors said the videotaped performance was "offensive and insensitive to other nations," Philly.com.
In the video, pictures of Yousafzai are displayed, as well as images of waving American flags and the Statue of Liberty, according to Philly.com.
Jeffrey Rosen, president and chief executive officer of the Constitution Center, stands by his decision and argues that not showing the song, titled "America," was "absolutely" the right decision, Philly.com reported.
"The whole point of the ceremony is to honor her in a way she felt comfortable with," Rosen said, according to Philly.com. "We just learned from her team that they objected, and respected their wishes."
Rosen called interest in the song's cancellation "a nonstory" and "a tempest in a teapot," adding that he too found nothing wrong with the song and removed it from the ceremoney only because of Yousafzai's advisors wishes, Philly.com reported.
Ayla's performance was supposed to be the third event, and the video was to be shown on the giant screen on stage, according to Philly.com.
The Potamkins were only notified before the ceremony, so by the time Yousafzai was reciveing her medal, most had walked out in order to express their frustration, Philly.com reported.
Rosen continues to argue the center made the correct decision, and that the center "celebrates America every day...in every way."
Yousafzai was shot in the face by a Taliban gunman in 2012 after standing up for equal education for girls in her home country Pakistan. She has since moved to England and was recently awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
