,

Caught Up in the Mess: What Really Went Down at the BabyFace, Anita Baker Concert in New Jersey?

A post to social media from the 'Whip Appeal' singer prompted many to express their thoughts and frustrations.

On Wednesday night, Newark, N.J., fans convened at the Prudential Center to see legendary singers Babyface and Anita Baker perform.

Video will return here when scrolled back into view
AI Is the New Civil Rights Frontier: Loren Douglass on Wealth, Politics & Power
AI Is the New Civil Rights Frontier: Loren Douglass on Wealth, Politics & Power

According to NYCโ€™s radio station WBLS, the โ€œWhip Appealโ€ singer was the opening act for Baker but due to โ€œtechnical difficultiesโ€ and a subsequent showtime delay, he ended not performing at allโ€”leaving fans had to unfortunately wonder when they would see him again (sorry, I had to).

โ€œI am truly sorry to my fans who have been waiting for us to hit the stage the evening at the Prudential Center,โ€ Babyface wrote in a post to Instagram. โ€œI was asked not to perform in order to give Ms. Baker her space and time to perform her show in its entirety. My band and I are extremely saddened we didnโ€™t get to perform for yโ€™all tonight.โ€

Following his posts, many upset fans and celebs took to social media to show support for the โ€œHow Come, How Longโ€ crooner. But what started off as just support quickly turned into a pool of frustration and venting with several fans and peers in the entertainment industry speaking out against Bakerโ€™s past โ€œdiva-likeโ€ behavior.

โ€œIโ€™m sorry.. I opened for Ms. Baker 15 years ago and it was a stone trip,โ€ comedian and 2022 Root 100 host Loni Love revealed in the comment section of Babyfaceโ€™s Instagram. โ€œI had hoped she and her team had improved for the better over the yearsโ€ฆ Lawwd.โ€

โ€œYou deserve better baby,โ€ legendary actress Jackรฉe Harry also wrote.

One fan who was in attendance Wednesday night revealed in the comments: โ€œAfter over 90 mins of waiting, we were finally informed that you werenโ€™t performing. Whatever the reasoning, the entire theater is pissed!โ€

Iconic singer Stephanie Mills also hopped in Babyfaceโ€™s IG comments, writing: โ€œLove you Babyface, you can come with me! I hate when this happens amongst out people. We should be thankful that people are still paying money to come to our shows. Weโ€™re not kids any more. This makes me really sad to see and read this.โ€

Over on Twitter, the commentary continued with some fans confirming that it was a venue and sound issue, while others chalked it up as another example of the โ€œSweet Loveโ€ singerโ€™s past problematic behavior on tours (even going so far as to recall her treatment and alleged โ€œbeefโ€ with the late Luther Vandross as further proof.)

https://twitter.com/ReignOfApril/status/1656645520926945282
https://twitter.com/NJLaLa/status/1656472574040080393
https://twitter.com/AnthonyTilghman/status/1656477698628231171
https://twitter.com/_JordansLyric/status/1656484010510495752
https://twitter.com/claycane/status/1656538896824426498

Regardless of who is to blame, hereโ€™s hoping the folks who came out last night will some sort of compensation for not being able to see Babyface perform. And letโ€™s hope future tour stops donโ€™t cause as much commotion like this moving forward.

Straight From The Root

Sign up for our free daily newsletter.