(Photo: Joelee, left. | Twitter)
A Bourbon Street cowboy known for his gregariousness and dance moves was accosted by a Louisiana police chief earlier this week after receiving several complaints of dancing in public.
In a video posted to social media on May 7, cowboy Joe Lee (“Joelee”) is confronted Thursday by Franklin Police Chief Morris Beverly. Referring to Lee as “Mr. Seguro,” Beverly said several people phoned in to complain that his dancing on the side of the road was distracting drivers.
Beverly asked Lee to stop or else he would work on getting an ordinance written and passed, giving police officers the power to arrest the cowboy for dancing on the side of the road.
“What I don’t want you to do is do all of that jumping and dancing around and stuff like that if you’re going to be dressed like that because some people take offense to that,” Beverly said in the video.
“What am I doing?” Lee said. “What am I doing? I’m exercising.”
“You’re not exercising sir,” Beverly said. “If we have a collision or anything, [we’re going] to put you down and you’re going to be civilly liable.”
Beverly did not respond to a request for comment.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Lee was a regular presence on Bourbon Street. He was often seen wearing a crop top and Daisy Duke shorts, mingling with crowds of tourists and appearing in selfies. After coronavirus restrictions closed the French Quarter, Lee relocated to Franklin.
Lee did not respond to a request for comment.
“It’s distracting when Mardi Gras is in the air and people are painting their boobs instead of covering them,” Lee said in a Facebook post May 9. “So just because we all don’t like it does it give Beverly the right to take his [First Amendment] away?”
Watch the full video of the encounter here.