'It felt disrespectful': Ashanti reveals she was offered free tracks by music producer in exchange for sex
OLD WESTBURY, NEW YORK: R&B star Ashanti spoke about a disturbing encounter she had with a music producer who tried to coerce her into having sex with him in exchange for payment for studio recordings. While appearing on 'The Breakfast Club' on Thursday, December 1, 2022, the artist opened up about the incident, stating that she and the producer had been working closely together for a few weeks and he had promised to do it for free because she was "the homie."
The singer reportedly claimed that after she and the producer collaborated on two songs, he reversed course and demanded that they take a shower together or she would have to pay $40,000 for each song.
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According to TMZ, Ashanti said that after realizing that the music producer was not joking, she made a few calls to "handle the situation." Her mother Tina Douglas chimed in to corroborate the information. Additionally, they hinted that her memoir might one day reveal who the studio creep is. Unfortunately, it wasn't the first time Ashanti had to call for help from someone in her close group. In a recent appearance on 'Red Table Talk', Ashanti acknowledged that she had made "calls" after her younger sister Kenashia had endured a horrifying act of domestic abuse.
According to Bet, the R&B star's younger sister discussed the years-long domestic abuse she faced and how her alleged abuser hounded her after he allegedly knocked out her teeth in the Red Table Talk episode titled 'That Was the Darkest Time in My Life'.
“He did continue to try and reach out. He did continue to try to come around and come with gifts,” Kenashia shared. “There were times where I was on my best friend's bed sleeping and he was literally in the window taking pictures of me and sending pictures to my phone.” Ashanti and Kenashia released gruesome pictures of the violence in October, which is also Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Previously in 2018, the singer had made these similar accusations in a conversation with 'Access Live', as per reported by canoe.com. The 'Happy' singer revealed the shady music producer suggested she take a shower with him in exchange for career and studio favors when she opened up about her sexual harassment hell. “It was very weird,” she said. “We started out really cool, he’s very talented, and when it got down to the business of the two records that I wanted it kinda was like, ‘OK, well, take a shower with me and let’s go out on a date and let’s do this, and I’ll give you the music for free."
She continued, “I thought he was joking, and then when he’s serious I was like, ‘Are you kidding?’ I was really really taken aback… I’ve been raised very strong and I don’t play those games and I have also been blessed to have a lot of big brothers and a lot of young brothers and let’s just say the situation was definitely taken care of and he definitely changed his attitude.”
Ashanti added, “It felt disrespectful obviously, to say the least… and it made me kinda think, ‘Wow, does this happen often? I can’t be the only person… and it’s me…!’,” she recalled. “I’ve seen a few things and I’ve heard a few things from different females… It’s really creepy, it’s really, really sad.”