Ashanti describes some predatory behavior she encountered. Image Source: Billboard
Ashanti describes some predatory behavior she witnessed.
During an interview with The Breakfast Club, singer Ashanti revealed that she had encountered some predatory behavior from an unidentified producer while working in the music industry in the past two decades.
She earlier dealt with an unnamed producer who previously offered to work together for free before intimidating her with shower sex or having to hand over $80,000 in sharing for the songs they started working on together.
Ashanti began to explain that they collaborated on two records, and he told her that he would not charge her for the records and referred to her as his homie, adding that when it came time to start putting it on the album, he notified the singer that they could just take a shower together. Ashanti previously assumed he was making a joke, but he stated that he had been deadly serious and that if he wasn't, he will need 40 racks per record.
She explained how she handled it, saying she had been continuing to work with the producer for a couple of weeks when he made an offer, and after she analyzed the information and eventually realized he wasn't trying to be funny, she had to put in a call to help ensure that everything has been taken care of.
Ashanti described on The Breakfast Club that she generally wouldn't give an opinion on such a "crazy situation," but she just wants to use her long-standing platform as a voice among several women sharing their own stories about someone being treated poorly by men in the music industry's Me Too reckoning.
Ashanti stated that she has given many interviews and that sometimes she speaks about that now, but most of the time she seems not to. She thinks that individuals are choosing to live in the era of social media at this point in her life, despite it having been in the industry for 20 years.
She went on to say that the social media era prompts her to think about what individuals have accomplished for women in the industry, and as a result, she felt compelled to speak up. Ashanti addressed the allegations in an interview with SiriusXM's Conversations with Maria Menounos in 2018, where they talked about the Me Too movement and also how women are treated in the music business, and she did add that it's very saddening, but things still happen.
She revealed at the time that a producer who had a crush on her did ask her to have a shower with him, and when she rejected, he charged her for the song she had collaborated on with him. She asserted her brothers intervened and eventually received an apology from the producer, who supposedly then ended up working on three of her records for free.
Ashanti also discussed her accusations made against Irv Gotti, the founding member of Murder Inc. Records, the very first record label to which she was signed in 2002. Ashanti revealed to Angie Martinez on the IRL podcast that Irv Gotti recently lied about being in a relationship with her.
The singer said during the interview that Irv Gotta has flat out said things related to her that are untrue and it's odd for her to listen to them. Ashanti added that it's odd to hear such things especially when a person knows that they are telling lies but continues to lie adding that that's when situations get a little scary and psychological. She also claimed Gotti constantly made fun of her while they were working together.
