Trinidad Archbishop vex over sex toy giveaway by carnival band:
(Trinidad Express) Archbishop Charles Jason Gordon says Tribe Carnival has gone too far by including an adult toy in its Carnival goodie bags given to women masqueraders.
Gordon said the country’s Carnival has reached a level of “hedonism” and warned that if Carnival bands are unable to regulate themselves, citizens may have to call on the Government to intervene.
Gordon made the statements while delivering daily Mass at the Archbishop’s Chapel in Port of Spain yesterday morning.
“I have been reflecting on the Carnival, and I’m sure that you all would have seen my reflections from time to time,” Gordon said.
He said two years ago he wrote the book “Rekindling our Carnival Rhythms”, in which he traced the history of Carnival from before slavery onward, showing how the festival reflects the social history of the nation.
“As Carnival goes, so our nation is. It is really only reflecting who we are; it is not driving it, but it is doing both,” Gordon said.
“Whereas I started to write a rant about what was happening, I realised there were so many beautiful pieces of Carnival—you know, the Canboulay Riots, the Dimanche Gras show, the pan, the Moko Jumbies. There are so many amazing things about Carnival, so many amazing things,” he said.
Gordon said last year he wrote another book in which he selected seven songs from the 2025 Carnival to show how they tell a story of nation-building, unlike anything he said he had seen before in his life.
Gordon quoted a line from Freetown Collective’s 2025 song “Take Me Home”: “Marry me to the heart of Port of Spain. If I leave, I bound to come again.”
He said this showed a covenant of love between people and the capital city.
Gordon said if there was a covenant of love between the people and the city, then people must also push back against Carnival when it is going astray.
“The only times actually Carnival evolved into more artistic forms is when it got pushed back. For many years, two or three decades now, Carnival has been encroaching, encroaching, encroaching—not all of it. I want to be real clear: I’m talking about Carnival Monday and Tuesday, and I am talking about the fete industry, and I am talking about an industry,” he said.“It is owned by one or two people, and most of our big bands that are pushing hard in the wrong direction are owned by one or two people. This is business. They are no longer where people used to gather and make Carnival costumes as a community and celebrate as a community and have community. No, this is big business—very big business.”
Gordon said this year, Tribe Carnival had gone too far, a refrain he repeated six times throughout his remarks.
“Just as I have asked the Government to regulate social media for the sake of our children, if Tribe cannot pull back on its own, I think the Government would have to regulate it. Hashtag Tribe gone too far,” Gordon said.
“If you think that Tribe has gone too far, you know where their Facebook is and you know where their website is. Please—handing an adult sex toy to every female buying a costume—hashtag Tribe gone too far,” he continued.
Gordon said a small number of people were responsible for creating events that corrupt the youth.
“Our country is not for sale and our young people are not for sale. We, the good citizens of this beautiful country, have to start putting guardrails for our children,” he said. “I love Carnival. Last week I was in Renegades. I love Carnival. I go to all the pan sides. There is so much beauty about this Carnival that has come from the bowels and belly of our nation. But what we are seeing here is big business, like what happened in the newspapers where you have to sensationalise to get people to come back again and again, and you have to take that sensation up and up and up,” Gordon said.
Gordon said the country had to stop this descent.
“We have to stop. We have to stop this. We have to dial it back. We have to bring Carnival back to what it has always been: a celebration of the life, vitality, and creativity of Trinidad and Tobago. Whatever happens in Trinidad Carnival goes to Barbados, it goes to Grenada, it goes to St Vincent, it goes all up the islands. We cannot be the people exporting this level. What we have now reached to is hedonism. That is where we are. We have to dial this back, and if the company is unwilling to dial it back, then the citizens have to ask the Government to put regulations,” Gordon said.
“So one way or the other, we have to do something different. We have been heading down the wrong road here. Now let’s pull back. Let’s get back to safety for our young people who want to play Carnival, safety for our young people who want to enjoy this great festivity that we have. Amen,” he said.
‘Freedom, fun and a little mischief’
The Express reached out to chief executive officer of Tribe Carnival Dean Ackin yesterday for comment on the Archbishop’s statement.
He said he would speak on the matter today.
However, last Saturday, in defending Tribe’s decision to include the Rose-an adult pleasure device-in the goodie bag, Ackin said: “You know Tribe—we’ve never been afraid to lead from the front.”
He said the idea originated during a discussion about giving roses (the flower) for Valentine’s Day, coinciding with Carnival Saturday this year.
“We also recognise that in business, it’s the personal touch that matters,” Ackin said.
“Carnival is about freedom, expression, fun and a little mischief, and as pioneers of the modern mas experience, we’re always looking for ways to keep things fresh, playful and memorable,” he said.
Ackin said that over the years, Tribe has built its reputation on innovation and pushing the boundaries of what a Carnival band can be.
“We don’t just deliver costumes and drinks—we deliver an experience. And if that experience occasionally comes with a cheeky surprise that keeps people smiling and talking, well…that’s very much on brand for us,” Ackin said.
“The reaction so far has been exactly what you’d expect: laughter, excitement and plenty chatter…” he said.
