In April 2007, Akon drew criticism for having on-stage simulated sex
with Danah (Deena) Alleyne, a fifteen-year-old preacher's daughter, at
a club in Trinidad and Tobago, as part of a fake contest, despite the club's claim to have an 18 years and over age limit.[29][30] The incident was filmed by Akon's crew and later uploaded to the Internet. On April 20, 2007 local media, channel TV6, aired the video clip publicly. Amid criticism on the radio, television, and from the blogosphere, Verizon Wireless removed ringtones featuring Akon's songs. Verizon also decided not to sponsor The Sweet Escape Tour where Akon was to be the opening act for Gwen Stefani.[31] However, Universal Music Group did not take action against Akon, but rather simply ordered the video clip be removed from video-sharing site YouTube due to copyright infringement. Conservative commentator and Parents Television Council founder Brent Bozell called this "corporate irresponsibility".[32]

In a newly released song, "Sorry, Blame It On Me",
Akon apologizes to the young girl for the incident at the club, though
citing the club for admitting the girl because she was under 18, and
her parents for letting her go out dressed like an adult. He also tells
how Verizon dropped promoting him and Gwen's tour, and stopped sale of
his ringtones. He also makes several other apologies to his children,
wife, and mother as well. The song is available to listen to on Akon's
MySpace page and was released onto iTunes (U.S.) on July 17, 2007.

Political commentators Michelle Malkin, Laura Ingraham, and Bill O'Reilly[33][34] Malkin uploaded commentary about Akon to YouTube, using footage from music videos and the Trinidad concert, and Universal Music Group then forced its removal by issuing a DMCA[35] The Electronic Frontier Foundation joined Malkin in contesting the removal as a misuse of copyright law, citing fair use.[36] In May 2007, UMG rescinded its claim to the video, and the video returned to YouTube. criticized Akon for "degrading women". takedown notice.