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Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles has called on the Prime Minister to retract and apologise for what she described as an offensive and divisive social media statement about calypso and calypsonians, accusing the Government of waging an ongoing attack on Trinidad and Tobago’s culture.

In a statement issued yesterday, Beckles said the Prime Minister’s comments reflected “a troubling lack of restraint and judgment” and amounted to an “unhinged and desperate outburst” that she believes forms part of a wider pattern of hostility toward cultural expression dating back to Independence Day 2025.

Beckles said the Prime Minister’s references to calypsoes as “hateful diatribes” and to calypsonians as “political stooges” were “offensive, deeply insensitive and prejudicial,” particularly in a society built on diverse histories and traditions.