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Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber slam Tekashi 6ix9ine for claiming they bought their Billboard No. 1 spot

Tekashi 6ix9ine previously claimed that Billboard had deliberately manipulated Grande and Bieber's new song which leapfrogged from No. 5 to the No. 1 slot
UPDATED MAY 19, 2020
Justin Bieber, Tekashi 6ix9ine and Ariana Grande (Getty Images)
Justin Bieber, Tekashi 6ix9ine and Ariana Grande (Getty Images)

Pop stars Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber have hit back at controversial claims made by the recently-freed rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine that their new hit 'Stuck With U' had been deliberately manipulated to reach No. 1 on the Billboard charts, leapfrogging the rapper's hit 'Gooba' from its previous No. 5 position. "It's all manipulated," he had said at the time, alleging that about 30,000 units of 'Stuck With U' had been bought using 6 credit cards. "It's all fabricated. You can buy No. 1s. This is what these artistes do, and it's not fair."

In a lengthy post that was posted on her Instagram account on May 18, Ariana Grande responded to the claims without directly naming Tekashi 6ix9ine. The pop diva first thanked all her fans who made the new No.1 song possible, before she launched into an explanation of what actually went down. 



 

"Numbers aren’t the driving force in anything I do. I'm grateful to sing. Grateful to have people who want to listen. Grateful to even be here at all," Ariana began. She then addressed the chart manipulation claims head-on. "OUR fans [Justin & Ariana's] bought this song (never more than four copies each, AS THE RULES STATE). They are ride or die mother****ers and I thank God every day that I have them in my life. Sales count for more than streams. You can not discredit this as hard as u try."

She added, "To anybody that is displeased with their placement on the chart this week or who is spending their time racking their brain thinking of as many ways as they can to discredit hard-working women (and only the women for some reason.....), I ask u to take a moment to humble yourself. be grateful you’re even here."



 

She then seemed to indirectly eyeball Tekashi6ix9ine, whose song 'Gooba' was now No.3 on the charts. "Congratulations to all my talented ass peers in the top 10 this week. Even number 3 and thank u to @billboard for this honor. And thank u to everybody who helped us raise a lot of money for a very important [charitable] cause this week. Love u all a lot." 

Justin Bieber also responded to the claims on his Instagram Story, saying that Tekashi's claim was a lie. He responded to the rapper's claim that only 31 million of his 'Gooba' streams had been counted by Billboard, by countering that only domestic streams were considered for the Billboard Hot 100.  Bieber added, "This is my song with Ariana Grande and I'm honored to work with her to help raise money for a great cause." He then declared, "If you gonna say her name, make sure you say mine because it's our song." Those are fighting words, Justin.

Justin Bieber attends the premiere of YouTube Originals' "Justin Bieber: Seasons" at Regency Bruin Theatre on January 27, 2020, in Los Angeles, California. (Getty Images)

Tekashi 6ix9ine then posted a rebuttal for Ariana Grande on his Instagram, where he said, "I don't want you [Ariana] to think that I'm coming at you. Not saying that you not talented... You just don't understand my pain. My frustration is from Billboard." The rapper also revealed that he spoke for "millions of kids that come from nothing."

The last part of his Instagram video's caption read, "LIFE is REAL when you’re on welfare. LIFE is REAL when you grow up without a father. You don’t know what that is like." He then quoted Grande's words back at her - "You say for me to be humble... I don’t think you know what humble is... YOU ARE VERY TALENTED AND BEAUTIFUL GOD BLESS YOU. But you will NEVER UNDERSTAND MY PAIN."

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