A billboard put up on the Atlantic City expressway last week continues to cause controversy.
The billboard shows a woman’s buttocks covered only by a few beads. It’s an advertisement for a 1920s-themed musical at the Resorts Casino.
Some people are outraged by the provocative ad, including Naeem Callaway. That’s why he’s started an online petition urging the casino to take the billboard down.
“In all my years of living in Atlantic City I’ve never seen a billboard of that nature,” said Callaway.
“It’s unacceptable.”
NJTransit, which owns the land where the billboard sits, threatened to remove the billboard after receiving complaints.
The casino isn’t backing down from the pressure however. Resorts received a court order on Thursday barring NJTransit from doing anything with the billboard until a formal hearing scheduled for next month.
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“I just don’t understand the tremendous resistance from these few people,” said Dennis C. Gomes, the owner, president and CEO of Resorts.
Gomes cites a recent online USA Today poll as proof that the billboard should remain. The poll shows the majority of nearly 800 voters that are in support of the billboard as of Friday afternoon.
He also compares that with the 54 signatures that Callaway’s petition had gained at the same point in time.
“They don’t represent, in my opinion, what everybody else thinks,” said Gomes.
“I think they just scream louder.”
An NJTransit spokeswoman told NBC10 that the agency’s lawyers are reviewing the matter.
