Anita Baker Removes Babyface as Opening Act

Anita Baker is now hitting the road alone on her 2023 tour.

On Tuesday (June 13), Baker announced that she had removed Babyface as the opening act from her cross-country The Songstress Tour. The announcement comes after a series of Tweets where Baker has felt as though she’s had to defend herself from the hit R&B singer’s fans.

It all started when Babyface’s set was cut from her show at New Jersey’s Prudential Center on May 10, to which he replied by writing in an Instagram post, “I am truly sorry to my fans who have been waiting for us to hit the stage this evening at the Prudential Center. I was asked not to perform in order to give Ms. Baker her space and time to perform her show in its entirety. My band and I are extremely saddened we didn’t get to perform for y’all tonight.”

Since then, Baker has sent out several messages on Twitter claiming that Babyface’s fans have been harassing her. “This is What [happens], When Grown Men/from @babyface Fan Base Threaten, You/A 65 yr old Woman & You ask him, to help Stop, the harrassment,” she wrote on Monday (June 12) in response to a story with the headline, “Anita Baker Pops Off on ‘Narcissist’ Kenneth ‘Babyface’ Edmonds and His Fans: ‘Kenny’s Crazies Are Online Bullies.’”

The “Giving You the Best I Got” singer has reissued her tour poster that no longer features Babyface’s name on it. “After Silently, Enduring Cyber Bulling/Verbal Abuse & Threats of Violence from the Fan Base, of Our Special Guest/Support Act, in the Interest of Personal Safety, I will continue, The Songstress Tour, alone,” she confirmed on Twitter. “Appropriate refunds will be made.”

The Songstress Tour launched on February 11 and continues until December 23 when it wraps in Oakland, California.

Anita Baker The Songstress 2023 Tour Dates: 

2/11 – Hollywood, FL @ Hard Rock Live
2/14 – Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena
2/17 – New Orleans, LA @ Smoothie King Center
5/10 – Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center
5/12 – Long Island, NY @ UBS Arena
5/14 – Baltimore, MD @ CFG Bank Arena
6/30 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
7/02 – Detroit, MI @ Pine Knob Music Theatre
11/18 – Greensboro, NC @ Greensboro Coliseum Complex
11/22 – Memphis, TN @ FedEx Forum
11/24 – Atlantic City, NJ @ Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena
12/15 – Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
12/17 – Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
12/22 – Los Angeles, CA @ Crypto.com Arena
12/23 – Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena

Photo by Erik Umphery/PRNewsfoto