British-Ghanaian rapper Stormzy is said to have urged his label to slice an executive out of its picture after an image of him in blackface surfaced.
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Ben Cook was forced to leave his position as the President of Atlantic Records UK after an image of him sporting blackface surfaced.
Since then, a report claiming Stormzy forced Cook’s superiors to fire him has hit the net…suggesting that the rapper told the label he would leave it if it refused to discipline his former boss.
Warner, Atlantic’s owner, says that this is not true.
A rep shared:
“That’s simply not true. No artists were involved in our decision-making.”
Speaking on his depature, Cook said in his resignation announcement:
“Late last year, rumours began to circulate about my appearance at that event, many of which are simply untrue,” Cook wrote in his resignation letter. While my intention was to honour a musical hero, I recognise my appearance was offensive and I made a terrible mistake.
As a consequence of this, I readily agreed to disciplinary actions by my employer last year. Since then, however, allegations surrounding the party have continued to be made against me. Moreover, they have been used against a wonderful company and the label I love. I have therefore come to the conclusion that I should make this statement and step down, with immediate effect.”
Stormzy is yet to speak out.
This is bigger than Stormzy and he should not be labeled as ‘difficult’ to work with or a ‘diva’ because of this. That executive was a liability to Atlantic records and was fired accordingly.