Anita Baker has chosen to continue her well-received and controversial tour without the assistance of Babyface or any other act.
The “Body & Soul” vocalist shared the update in a tweet Tuesday morning, following days of speaking out about Babyface being scrapped from last month’s New Jersey stop.
“After Silently Enduring Cyber Bulling/Verbal Abuse & Threats of Violence from the Fan Base, of Our Special Guest/Support Act. In the Interest of Personal Safety. I will continue, The Songstress Tour alone. Appropriate refunds will be made,” Baker tweeted.
#AnitaBaker After Silently, Enduring Cyber Bulling/Verbal Abuse & Threats of Violence from the Fan Base, of Our Special Guest❤️/Support Act. In the Interest of Personal Safety. I will continue, The Songstress Tour, alone. Appropriate refunds will be made.
Blessings🎁
ABXO🎼 pic.twitter.com/P7OzVdiEPm— Anita Baker (@IAMANITABAKER) June 13, 2023
Her announcement comes a month after the producer and songwriter shared on Instagram that he was asked not to perform his set in order to allow Baker enough time to play hers. Later, it was revealed that technical difficulties would have forced his performance to run over time. However, fans and even some musical colleagues were unhappy about the decision, leaving many to call out Baker for an alleged diva-like attitude. Since then, she has spent time explaining to people that Babyface was a guest performer rather than the headliner. She has even pleaded with him to speak up and let his fans know the actual situation. Unfortunately, that still did not satisfy his fanbase, who purchased tickets to see him at the New Jersey show.
Babyface took to his Instagram Tuesday afternoon to respond, saying he’s “saddened by the news” that Anita Baker decided to remove him from the tour.
