Anita Baker has removed Babyface from her tour after several days of criticizing him on Twitter.
The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, 64, confirmed that Baker decided to cut him from her Songstress Tour in a statement provided to USA TODAY on Tuesday, saying that he is “saddened by the news.”
“It’s unfortunate and disheartening to see how things have played out via social media,” Babyface said. “While I was looking forward to the rest of the dates, I have nothing but love & respect for Anita and I wish her the best for the remainder of her tour.”
Babyface’s removal follows a public spat between the two musicians that played out for their fans on social media.
On Monday, Baker asked Babyface, whose real name is Kenneth Brian Edmonds, on Twitter to call off fans she said are bullying and threatening her as a result of him not performing during a May show of the tour. She dubbed them “Kenny’s Crazies.”
“Some of his fans, are not accepting of the reality, that he is contracted, as special guest support, on My Tour. Some even want to hurt me… Crazyyyy. Town,” she tweeted.
Her tweet came after a week of alluding to the dustup over Babyface not performing at a May 10 New Jersey stop on her tour. The night of the New Jersey concert, Babyface took to social media to tell fans he was asked not to take the stage at the Prudential Center so that headliner Baker could perform her full set after the show got off to a late start. Fans and celebrities responded with criticism of Baker.
Later, Babyface told People magazine in a statement on May 11 that his set was cut due to technical issues, explaining that production crews were unable to get a video screen running in time for his performance.
More:Anita Baker says Babyface fans are bullying her over scrapped tour performance
On Monday, Baker told her Twitter followers that Babyface is a “special guest/support act, on my tour. This false narrative of a co-headliner is creating unrealistic expectations and aggression from his fans towards me. He should tell you guys the Truth.”
On June 6, she tweeted: “Live Nation took full responsibility. I went on my stage, at the appropriate time. Did my job without benefit of full production.”
Babyface and Baker had a past legal dealing when he sued her in 2006, but Baker told Twitter followers on June 6 that had been settled and there were no hard feelings between them.
“My company defended and prevailed against the lawsuit filed, (not by Babyface, but by his reps. at the time). Kenny, came to me YEARS ago, in the spirit of community and we put it all behind us and came together, in love, peace, music and community and forgiveness,” she wrote.
More:Babyface delivers soulful performance, honors Whitney Houston in NPR Tiny Desk Concert: Watch
Contributing: Indianapolis Star
