Action Bronson Dropped From Another College Concert
Action Bronson has been dropped from another concert lineup following protests over the misogynistic, homophobic, and transphobic nature of his music and live conduct. Last month, George Washington University cancelled his scheduled appearance at their Spring Fling concert, and last year he was pulled from Toronto’s NXNE festival. Now, Connecticut’s Trinity College has rescinded their invitation for Bronson to perform during their Spring Weekend Concert after a petition made the rounds calling for his removal.
“We believe that Action Bronson headlining Spring Weekend is an endorsement of violence, specifically against women and minorities,” the petition reads in part. “To have an event where fellow classmates are celebrating a man who has built his rap career on hatred and violence against women is a slap in the face to the students on campus who have dealt with these issues firsthand.” The petition cites specific examples from Action Bronson songs like “Consensual Rape” (Trinity College’s contract with the rapper had a stipulation that he could not perform the track live), “Brunch,” and “Actin’ Crazy,” among others.
The petition also responds to the apology Bronson issued following the GWU cancellation:
While Action has apologized to GWU for his promotion of violence against women, it is more important to recognize that he blamed GWU students for misinterpreting his work while continuing to promote the same culture of violence that he purports to disavow. Actions speak louder than words. His songs are still streamed, performed, and promoted. His videos remain online without a hint of apology in the descriptions.
The Trinity College student organization that books concerts released a statement yesterday saying that Action Bronson was removed from the concert’s lineup:
In the beginning of March we were made aware of the severity and depth of some of Action Bronson’s lyrics. We began to create a strategy to keep members of our community safe and began drafting our response to the backlash that we anticipated. Following news that Action Bronson was being removed as the headlining artist for Spring Weekend at The George Washington University, our executive-board committee voted on March 31st to remove Action Bronson from our Spring Weekend concert because of his lyrics, music, videos, and the misogyny, homophobia, and transphobia that they promote. As a result, there was an overpowering majority to support the removal of Action Bronson. We would also like to state that we do not think that his lyrics are representative of all of Hip-Hop music and Hip-Hop culture. The result of this vote was taken to our administrative advisor from the S.A.I.L. office. Our concerns about bringing Action Bronson to campus were brought to other administrators and our contract was looked over by the College’s legal counsel who could not find a way out of our binding contract without losing the full amount of money that was promised in the contract. Through communication with the administration, it was decided that bringing Action Bronson to campus was the best option at the time, with the addition of a legal addendum, which would forbid Action Bronson from performing any songs that went against the College’s mission.
Kehlani, the other artist on the lineup, will perform as scheduled. Listen to her instead.