News

Eminem, Chris Brown, Nelly & Teka$hi 69's Spotify Spots Are Now In Jeopardy

By HHL JT
pixel_start

Last week, Spotify pulled R. Kelly, XXXTentacion, and T-Kay from all of their playlists under their new anti-hate policy.

"When an artist or creator does something that is especially harmful or hateful (for example, violence against children and sexual violence), it may affect the ways we work with or support that artist or creator," Spotify decrees.

Despite the best efforts of XXX's management -- who pointed out all of the other artists who are abusers but are still on Spotify -- so far those are the only three names we've seen getting the playlist ban. (You can still find the artists on Spotify through regular search.)

In an open letter to Spotify, the woman's group UltraViolet has called for eight other acts to get the same ban.

They are Chris Brown, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nelly, Eminem, Don Henley, Steven Tyler, Teka$hi 69 and Ted Nugent.

Here's the whole letter:

Thank you for taking the important first step of removing infamous abusers R. Kelly and XXXTentacion from your official playlists. Your action demonstrates that Spotify is following the lead of Black women who demanded that these two men, who have sexually and physically abused women for years, not be promoted and celebrated.

On behalf of our one million members, UltraViolet applauds and supports this choice. 

Yet as you know, these two men are not the only abusers on your platform. We implore you to take a deeper look at the artists you promote. 

Every time a famous individual continues to be glorified despite allegations of abuse, we wrongly perpetuate silence by showing survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence that there will be no consequences for abuse. That has a cultural effect far beyond one individual artist. 

While nowhere near a comprehensive list, here are several abusers or groups of abusers who continue to profit from your promotion: 

● Chris Brown ● The Red Hot Chili Peppers ● Nelly ● Eminem ● Don Henley of The Eagles ● Steven Tyler of Aerosmith ● Tekashi 6ix9ine ● Ted Nugent. 

We publish this as an open letter because we hope other platforms like iTunes, Google Play Music, and Pandora will continue to follow your lead. Thank you again for your thoughtful consideration. 

Sincerely, Shaunna Thomas, 

Executive Director, UltraViolet

Do you think Spotify will remove these artists from their playlists?

Given Eminem's ban would be for misogynistic lyrics, not actions, it could lead to a slippery slope which darn near eliminates all the rappers from Spotify's playlists.

pixel_end

Discuss

News Chris Brown Disses Quavo On New Song Chris Brown Disses Quavo On New Song / News News Benzino Explains How Battling Eminem Will Improve Race Relations Benzino Explains How Battling Eminem Will Improve Race Relations / News News Is This Why J. Cole Hasn't Deleted His Kendrick Lamar diss Yet? Is This Why J. Cole Hasn't Deleted His Kendrick Lamar diss Yet? / News Beef Quavo Responds To Chris Brown's Diss On The Song 'Tender' Quavo Responds To Chris Brown's Diss On The Song 'Tender' / Beef News Rick Ross Goes At Birdman For Supporting Drake Rick Ross Goes At Birdman For Supporting Drake / News News Did Bobby Shmurda Jump In The Middle Of The Meek Mill 50 Cent Beef? Did Bobby Shmurda Jump In The Middle Of The Meek Mill 50 Cent Beef? / News