PC Music’s GFOTY criticised after calling Toumani & Sidiki Diabaté “Bombay Bicycle Club blacked up”
PC Music’s GFOTY has been criticised following an iMessage review of this year’s Field Day festival hosted on Noisey.
The artist had been asked to review the festival by the website, and referred to Malian duo Toumani & Sidiki Diabaté as a “tribal band,” that she thought were “Bombay bycicle (sic) club blacked up.”
As the racist iMessages by @GFOTY have now been er, blacked out, here's a screengrab of them pic.twitter.com/YLMzaMKmes
— theQuietus (@theQuietus) June 8, 2015
Noisey originally published the comments uncensored, but have since been blacked out by the site following pressure from The Quietus on Twitter. Noisey’s Executive Editor Sam Wolfson acknowledged that GFOTY’s comments shouldn’t have been published, and was an “editorial oversight.”
@theQuietus Think GFOTY says nothing but ridiculous and charmless things but there are limits to that and this shouldn’t have been publishd.
— Sam Wolfson (@samwolfson) June 8, 2015
@theQuietus It was an editorial oversight aka we fucked up and that part of her review has been removed and the change acknowledged.
— Sam Wolfson (@samwolfson) June 8, 2015
GFOTY has yet to respond to the criticism. She’s not the only person to have some under fire for making inappropriate comments – earlier today Ten Walls found himself dropped by a number of festivals and his booking agent for making homophobic comments on Facebook.
Update: GFOTY has now responded thus:
I was actually trying to make a joke about appropriation, but I fucked up and it wasn't funny. I’m sorry.
— GFOTY (@GFOTY) June 8, 2015
I know I push buttons, but I've gone too far this time. I was being really naive, and for that I take full responsibility.
— GFOTY (@GFOTY) June 8, 2015
Update, June 9: PC Music has responded, as well:
We are extremely disappointed by the completely inexcusable comments made by GFOTY.
— PC Music (@pcmus) June 9, 2015
The comments do not reflect the views of the label, or our other artists.
— PC Music (@pcmus) June 9, 2015
They do not reflect our ethos to create an inclusive musical environment and community of people from all backgrounds.
— PC Music (@pcmus) June 9, 2015
