A women's advocacy group with a history of pushing social media campaigns has applauded the decision to have artists like R. Kelly and XXXTentacion removed from Spotify's official playlists - and is calling upon the company to drop more artists from its promoted content
Via an open letter released to the public on Monday, May 14, executive director and co-founder of UltraViolet, Shaunna Thomas makes reference to Kells and X while acknowledging CEO Daniel Ek for demonstrating "that Spotify is following the lead of Black women who demanded that these two men, who have sexually and physically abused women for years, not be promoted and celebrated.”
She then goes on to mention a number of others who ought to fold under the streaming platform's newly implemented policy against "hate content" and musicians known to have a history of "hateful conduct." Among the names that Thomas lists are Chris Brown, Nelly, Eminem, and 6ix9ine, along with such non-hip hop acts as Don Henley, Steven Tyler, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
“Every time a famous individual continues to be glorified despite allegations of abuse, we wrongly perpetuate silence by showing survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence that there will be no consequences for abuse,” Thomas writes in the letter. “That has a cultural effect far beyond one individual artist.”
Source: complex.com