This Dad Put His 9-Year-Old Daughter Onstage at a Vulgar Heavy Metal Concert — Was It OK?

Should concerts and other forms of live entertainment also be rated the same way movies and music are?

That's the question raised after a Florida TV station reported on a young girl seen on stage at a recent heavy metal concert. Not only was 9-year-old Olivia Douglas standing next to Ivan Moody, the lead singer of Five Finger Death Punch at the Fort Rock festival, she was encouraged to sing the profanity-laced lyrics along with the audience. However, the story sounds even more bizarre when you learn her father placed his daughter up there.

Olivia's dad, Mark Douglas, said the language shouted by singer and echoed back by the crowd of more than 10,000 was not a problem.

"It's a bad word," he said, "yeah, but it's a word, that's all it is, a word."

Image source: YouTube

WINK- TV's Michael Francis covered the story and sat down with Mark and Olivia Douglas in their home.

"I was surprised when I met the man," the reporter told TheBlaze. "I was expecting a stereotypical heavy metal fan with a beat-up truck in the driveway."

Image source: WINK-TV

But Douglas is anything but a stereotypical tattooed headbanger. Francis told TheBlaze that he was a sheriff's deputy before quitting his job to become a visiting nurse -- in order to spend more time with his child. The two reportedly try to see every heavy metal concert they can.

The concert promoters issued a statement to WINK supporting any performer's "free speech and artistic integrity."  However, the promoters also added, "It's up to the parents to decide what their kids see and hear."

While looking into the story, Francis also discovered that this was not the first time Five Finger Death Punch welcomed a young child on stage during concerts. There are several YouTube videos featuring similar situations.

Image source: WINK-TV

Watch the entire report from WINK-TV.

The Motion Picture Association of America rates films for content, and based on those ratings, age restrictions are placed on who can buy a ticket and see a movie. The recording industry similarly uses "parental advisory" warnings for explicit content.

Image source: MPAA.org

How do you feel about this issue? Should live events like concerts be rated like movies in order to prevent young people from seeing or experiencing shows for mature audiences.

Here's the video posted by Mark Douglas, showing his 9-year-old daughter onstage with Five Finger Death Punch. Content warning: Language is definitely not safe for work.

(H/T: WINK-TV)

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