Azealia Banks has been dropped as headliner of London festival Born & Bred after she made a series of racial slurs and used other offensive language on Twitter overnight.
As reported, Banks took objection to Malik’s new ‘Like I Would’ video, which was released on Tuesday (May 10). She posted a picture to Instagram, pointing out the alleged similarities to her previous videos and style choices. “Damn Zayn be mood boarding the fuck of out me,” she wrote, adding: “I’m not mad about this though. Zayn is a cutie pie”.
However, the tone of her conversation soon changed and she began making racial and homophobic slurs aimed at the Bradford-born singer and anyone who challenged her over her tweets.
Banks was due to headline the London festival on Sunday, June 5 where she would have topped a bill that also includes grime MC Novelist. In a statement given to NME, festival organisers confirmed that Banks’ has been pulled from the line-up.
“We have decided to cancel Azealia Banks’ headline appearance at Rinse Born & Bred,” the statement reads. “Rinse Born & Bred is a celebration of rave culture and has been created for EVERYONE. We celebrate inclusivity and equality.”
ANNOUNCEMENT: @RinseFM I @bornandbredLDN pic.twitter.com/AB3wnTaSru
— Born & Bred (@bornandbredLDN) May 11, 2016
In addition to the comments made about Malik, Banks also took aim at the UK grime and rap scene which she labelled “a disgrace.”
https://twitter.com/AZEALIABANKS/status/730299689120206848
https://twitter.com/AZEALIABANKS/status/730300209880764417
Born & Bred takes place at Haggerston Park between June 4-5. The Rinse FM-affiliated festival will see acts including iLoveMakonnen, Wiley, Benga, Lady Leshurr and Logan Sama appear across two days of live music. Grime DJ Sama had previously threatened to boycott the festival if Banks stayed on as headliner.
This incident is the latest in a long line of controversies for Banks. She recently endorsed Donald Trump for US President, describing him as “evil, like America”.
While earlier this year she called Beyoncé a “thief” and said that her album ‘Lemonade’ is bad for black women and feminism.