Anita Baker has officially kicked Babyface off her Songstress tour due to his unruly fans cyberbullying her.
The legendary soul singer announced on Tuesday that she had enough of the alleged threats Babyface’s fans hurled at her over the last 24 hours. She felt there was nothing else she could do besides going on the tour alone to ensure her safety.
“#AnitaBaker After Silently, Enduring Cyber Bulling/Verbal Abuse & Threats of Violence from the Fan Base, of Our Special Guest [heart emoji]/Support Act. In the Interest of Personal Safety. I will continue, The Songstress Tour, alone. Appropriate refunds will be made. Blessings [gift emoji] ABXO [music note] emoji,” Baker tweeted.
Fans upset over Babyface’s removal from the rest of the tour can get a full refund on their tickets. The issue kicked off earlier this week when the artists’ respective fan bases went toe-to-toe on social media.
The Songstress tour was designed to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Baker’s debut album, The Songstress, but Babyface’s fans demanded he be added as a co-headliner. Baker wouldn’t budge and told fans that Babyface signed a contract to perform as a special guest, so all decisions were final.
That wasn’t enough to ease his fans, and they proceeded to engage in a back-and-forth with Baker and went as far as claiming she was a difficult artist to work with, bringing up her past legal troubles and more. Baker managed to defend herself while also telling Babyface to control his fans, but the power of social media proved to be too much.
“Kenny's Crazies are online Bullies,” Baker wrote. “@Babyface Please call off, your fans. I have been Only Kind and Supportive, of You, as the Special Guest/Support, on My Tour ABXO [music note emoji].”
Babyface has responded about the removal on social media. "I am saddened by the news that Anita Baker has decided to remove me from 'The Songstress Tour.' It's unfortunate and disheartening to see how things have played out via social media. While I was looking forward to the rest of the dates, I have nothing but love and respect for Anita and I wish her the best for the remainder of her tour."
Baker, however, will continue without him as she’ll be back on the road in Chicago on June 30. Anita Baker will also travel to Detroit, Memphis, Atlantic City, Houston, Los Angeles and more before closing out the Songstress tour in Oakland.
