Ashanti is opening up about a VERY troubling incident with a record producer…
While appearing on hit radio show The Breakfast Club, the 42-year-old got candid with hosts Charlamagne tha God, DJ Envy, and Angela Yee, describing a time where a producer attempted to coerce her into sexual activities.
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The discussion was about toxic work environments, which led the Foolish singer to reveal a straight-up #MeToo moment:
“I’ve been in a crazy situation with one producer — I might have talked about this once — one producer, like, we did two records together. He was like ‘OK, you know, I’m not going to charge you, you know you’re my homie,’ whatever, whatever. And then when it came time to put on the album, he was like, ‘Well let’s take a shower together.’ And I thought he was joking!”
WHAT?? Last time we checked, that’s not what “homies” do… She continued:
“And then he was like, ‘Nah, I’m dead serious, like, you know, let’s go out and let’s take a shower together and I’ll give you the records. If not, I’ll need 40 racks per record.’”
$40,000 per record? He was extorting her for sex to the tune of $80k?! She recalled:
“And I was like — again, I thought he was joking because, you know, we had been working with each other for like, I don’t know, a couple of weeks.”
She added:
“It turned out that he was serious and I had to make some phone calls and, you know, stuff was handled, but it’s wild.”
Wild to say the LEAST. While she didn’t specifically name the producer, noting she will go more in depth in her forthcoming documentary, his audacity speaks volumes about the all-too-common abuse of power not just in Hollywood — but frankly, sadly, in every industry where men can get any power over women.
Ashanti’s mother, Tina Douglas, was also present during the interview. Charlamagne asked her:
“I be wondering, momma, how do you feel when you hear these stories? Do you ever feel like you want to get on social media and defend your daughter?”
She quickly responded, “Yes!” before Ashanti jokingly chimed in:
“Oh my god, PLEASE do not ever let her!”
She noted her mother will indeed be featured in the upcoming doc.
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The Rock With U singer previously opened up about the disturbing situation back in 2018 during the height of the #MeToo movement. In an earlier episode of the same radio show, she explained a producer had “a little crush” on her, but the feeling wasn’t mutual. After she rejected him, he skyrocketed her record price. However, her family — namely her “scary” big brothers stepped in to make things right, which led to his eventual apology. She revealed at the time:
“The way that apology came in, I actually got three records for free! And I got two of them mixed and mastered for free also.”
Her brothers must have been scary indeed! See her full new interview (below):
We hope this producer is no longer working in the industry — and that Ashanti was able to heal quickly from his gross betrayal. We can’t wait to hear more in her documentary! What do you think of her story, Perezcious readers? Will you be tuning into the doc? Let us know in the comments down below!
[Images via Breakfast Club Power 105.1 FM & Ashanti/YouTube]
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