This story contains details of sexual harassment.
You know Ashanti, obviously — she is an R&B legend.
Back in 2018, Ashanti appeared on an episode of Conversations with Maria Menounos and revealed that a producer who had a “crush on her” asked her to take a shower with him — and when she refused, he tried to directly charge her for their work together instead.
During a recent appearance on The Breakfast Club, Ashanti talked more about the alleged incident, as well as why she continues to share her story.
“One producer, like, we did two records together, he was like, ‘OK, I’m not gonna charge you, you’re my homie,'” she recalled. “And then, when it came time to put it on the album, he was like, ‘Well, let’s take a shower together.'”
Ashanti said she thought the producer in question was joking at first, but she soon found out he was “dead serious.” “‘You know, let’s go out and let’s take a shower together, and I’ll give you the records,'” she recalled him saying. “‘If not, I need 40 racks per record.'”
After some time, Ashanti said that she eventually realized the producer really was not kidding — and she had to “make some phone calls” to make sure “stuff was handled” regarding the extremely inappropriate situation that the producer created.
“I’ve been through a lot of interviews — and sometimes, I speak, but most of the time, I don’t,” she said, noting that she doesn’t always share the details on “crazy situations” like this.
“I feel like at this point, at 20 years being in, and where we are in social media and what we’re doing to progressively grow in this industry, I feel like just for a woman, I had to come out and just say my piece.”
That’s real. You can watch the entire interview here.