Posted by Tekashi 6ix9ine went on an Instagram tirade early Monday (May 18), accusing Billboard of somehow fudging the numbers to benefit Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber’s new collaborative single “Stuck With U.”
He was seemingly irate his comeback single “GOOBA” wasn’t going to land in the Billboard Hot 100’s coveted spot. Without mentioning his name, Grande responded to 6ix9ine’s accusations and made it clear she rightfully earned her place at the top.
“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,” she wrote in the caption. “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.”
View this post on Instagramthank 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.
Grande’s “Stuck With U” collaborator also issued a response to his Instagram account.
“He says his streams don’t count,” he began. “Yes they do but he is counting his global streams and this is a domestic chart so only domestic streams count. 60,000 units came because we don’t disclose our numbers until the end of the week. That’s called a strategy. He said 30K was bought with 6 credit cards but that is a lie. The rules are clear one credit card can buy max 4 copies. Anything over that the entire amount gets thrown out.
“Nielsen company checks this and found all our sales were legit because our fans are amazing and bought them. Don’t discredit our fan base with false info. This is my song with Ariana Grande and I’m honored to work with her to raise money for a great cause.”
Justin Bieber gets in the mix and responds to 6ix9ine pic.twitter.com/kmvLvR5BjM
— DJ Akademiks (@Akademiks) May 18, 2020
Unsurprisingly, 6ix9ine fired back at Grande’s post with an Instagram post of his own and assured the pop princess his beef wasn’t with her. He included old video clips of Grande’s time on Nickelodeon and talked how his mom used to collect cans for money.
Tekashi 6ix9ine Claims To Have Proof Billboard Cheated For Ariana Grande & Justin Bieber
View this post on Instagram@arianagrande All I’m saying is I worked super hard to make it out of Brooklyn NY. I speak for the millions of kids who aren’t as fortunate as you. The millions who weren’t fortunate to be on T.V.. LIFE is REAL when you’re on welfare LIFE is REAL when you grow up with out a father. You don’t know what that is like. You say for me to be humble …. I don’t think you know what humble is………. YOU ARE VERY TALENTED AND BEAUTIFUL GOD BLESS YOU. But you will NEVER UNDERSTAND MY PAIN ?