Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber respond to rapper Tekashi's accusations of buying out Billboard No 1 spot

May 19, 2020 14:11:54 IST

Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine is learning first hand that Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber's fandoms yield some serious power in the music world.

According to E!News, the 24-year-old rapper publicly accused Ariana and Bieber of fraudulently climbing their way to the top of the Billboard charts with their recent collab, 'Stuck With U.'

On Monday, Tekashi (whose song 'GOOBA' fell short of the top spot to land at Number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100) put out a video on Instagram claiming that his team launched an "investigation" and discovered that "six credit cards" were used to purchase 30,000 units of the song.

Tekashi alleged in the video, "When we asked where was those six credit cards linked to, Billboard said we can't disclose that information."

Both Ariana and Justin staunchly denied the allegations.

Ariana wrote in a lengthy Instagram statement, "my fans bought the song. JUSTIN'S fans bought the song. OUR fans bought this song (never more than four copies each, AS THE RULES STATE). I thank god every day that I have them in my life. not just when they fight for us to win (even when I ask them not to as I did this week) but because they're some of the greatest people I know. sales count for more than streams. u can not discredit this as hard as u try."

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thank u to everybody who supported this song, this cause and made this happen. we love uuuuu so much. there’s so much to celebrate today. however, i would like to say a few things. anyone who knows me or has followed me for a while knows that 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. i didn’t have a number one for the first five years of my career and it didn’t upset me at all because from the bottom of my heart, music is everything to me. my fans are everything to me. i promise i couldn’t ask for another fucking thing. so with this celebration today, i would like to address a few things which i don’t usually do (i don’t give my energy to drama or strange accusations normally but this has gone a little too far)...my fans bought the song. JUSTIN’S fans bought the song. OUR fans bought this song (never more than four copies each, AS THE RULES STATE). they are ride or die motherfuckers and i thank god every day that i have them in my life. not just when they fight for us to win (even when i ask them not to as i did this week) but because they’re some of the greatest people i know. sales count for more than streams. u can not discredit this as hard as u try. 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 hardworking women (and only the women for some reason.....), i ask u to take a moment to humble yourself. be grateful you’re even here. that people want to listen to u at all. it’s a blessed position to be in. i’ve had a lot of “almost number ones” in my career and i never said a goddamn thing because I FEEL GRATEFUL TO EVEN BE HERE. TO WANT TO BE HEARD AT ALL .... and you should feel that way too. congratulations to all my talented ass peers in the top ten 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 cause this week. love u all a lot.

A post shared by Ariana Grande (@arianagrande) on May 18, 2020 at 12:40pm PDT

Bieber also called Tekashi's credit card claims a "lie" in his own statement posted to Instagram Stories, writing, "The rules are clear. One credit card can buy max 4 copies. Anything over that the entire amount gets thrown out. Nielsen checks this and found all our sales were legit because our fans are amazing and bought them."

"This is my song with Ariana Grande and I'm honored to work with her to help raise money for a great cause. If [you're] gonna say her name make sure you say mine because it's our song," he concluded.

The 'GOOBA' rapper Tekashi didn't heed Justin's warning, instead, he posted another video to address Ariana directly.

He said, "I don't want you to think that I'm coming at you. I'm not saying that you're not talented and I'm not saying you can't sing. You're a beautiful singer. You just don't understand my pain. My frustration is for Billboard. I speak for the millions of kids that come from nothing. I want you to understand that I come from a different, different background than you."

In early April Tekashi was released from prison was several months earlier than scheduled and placed under house arrest due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier, Ariana and Justin dedicated all net proceeds from the streams and sales of 'Stuck with U' to the First Responders Children's Foundation. Funds will go toward grants and scholarships for children of healthcare workers and other front line responders fighting against the coronavirus pandemic.

Updated Date: May 19, 2020 14:11:54 IST

tags: Ariana Grande , Billboard , Buzz Patrol , BuzzPatrol , gooba , Justin Bieber , Stuck With U , Tekashi , Tekashi 6ix9ine , Tune In , TuneIn

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