Jhene Aiko Explains Def Jam’s 30th Anniversary Performance Cancellation

Jhene Aiko pulled out of plans to perform at a star-studded concert in New York last week after a member of her entourage was allegedly assaulted moments before she was due onstage.

Aiko was among the acts on the line-up for the Def Jam Recordings 30th Anniversary Concert at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Thursday, but she claims a male staff member disrespected her and her bandmates backstage, prompting her to scrap her set at the last minute.

She took to her Instagram page later that night to respond to fans’ queries about her absence at the show, which featured hip-hop stars including Rick Ross, 2 Chainz, DMX and Fabolous, and explained in the now-deleted post, “Unfortunately me and my camp (sic) were told to ‘get the f- out’ by ‘workers’ while I was waiting to go on stage, …after this ‘worker’ (male) physically assaulted a member of my management (female)… we had to leave due to the disrespect and hostile environment.

“If there’s one thing I can’t rock with, it’s disrespect… if me and my band members were any of the rappers that were performing there, we would have never been talked to or treated in such a way.

“I’m sorry that I was unable to perform for you tonight… hope to see you soon!”

Below is a screenshot of the now-deleted comment:

Event organizers have yet to comment on the accusations.

Photo Credit: Instagram