Ashanti, a popular pop star, has made shocking claims about an encounter with a music producer who allegedly demanded that she shower with him or face paying him $40,000 for each track he worked on with her.
The 42-year-old singer revealed this on the ‘Breakfast Club’ radio show, stating that the “crazy situation” occurred with a producer she had worked with for several weeks.
According to femaefirst.co.uk, the producer had initially said he wouldn’t charge her, but when it came time to put the tracks on the album, he demanded that they take a shower together.
Ashanti thought the man was joking, but he was serious and demanded $40,000 for each track if she didn’t comply.
The singer said: “I thought he was joking, because we had been working together for a couple of weeks. But it turns out that he was serious.”
Host Charlamagne tha God was shocked by the revelation and reacted by saying:
“Jesus Christ.” Ashanti went on to say that she took action to ensure the situation was “handled” after the proposition.
Although Ashanti did not name the person involved, she had previously spoken out about the same incident in 2018.
She had revealed that she turned down a producer who had “a little crush” on her and “all of a sudden the track became $45K”.
Ashanti’s family intervened and the man apologised by giving her “three records for free”.
She also added: “And I got two of them mixed and mastered for free.”
Sexual harassment in the music industry is a prevalent issue that many have spoken about, including other female singers.
Last year, singer Dua Lipa spoke about how she was warned not to work with a certain producer after he made inappropriate comments about women.
And in 2019, Taylor Swift made allegations against producer Dr Luke, which he denied.
However, Ashanti’s claim follows a recent study by the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative that shows female musicians are underrepresented in popular music.
The study found that from 2012 to 2019, women represented only 21.7% of artists and 12.5% of songwriters.
The study also showed that the representation of women of colour was even lower, with only 7.9% of artists and 2.6% of songwriters being women of colour.
Furthermore, the report found that women in the music industry were more likely to be objectified and sexualised than their male counterparts.
Ashanti’s story is not unique, and it highlights the need for the music industry to address the issue of sexual harassment and discrimination.
In recent years, the #MeToo movement has brought these issues to the forefront, and many have called for more action to be taken to ensure that women in the industry are treated with respect and dignity.
In conclusion, Ashanti’s allegations against the music producer she worked with highlight the pervasive issue of sexual harassment in the music industry.
Her story is not unique, and it is time for the industry to take more concrete action to address this issue.
