Ashanti has sparked an outcry over the promotional campaign of her new album, prompting lobby groups and family values campaigners to protest out the front of her record company’s office in Los Angeles earlier this week.
In the video for her single “The Way That I Love” a spurned lover, played by Ashanti, exacts revenge on her cheating boyfriend by stabbing him to death. The video features images of blood-spattered walls, images that are repeated in an e-card promotion that can be viewed here.
The label removed the site and video and released this statement:
“Following discussions with Ashanti, we have jointly decided to remove the TheWayThatILoveYou.com website that hosts the Gotchagram. Ashanti and her music have always been about self-empowerment and addressing the issues that are most meaningful to her. We stand by our artist and her creative choices.”
According to one of the protest leaders, the decision came after his group threatened to picket Ashanti’s performance at Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Sunday.
TIMBALAND GOT MARRIED
Word is, super producer Timbaland and his publicist Monique Idlett tied the knot in Virginia on Tuesday. According to sources, they will have an official ceremony in Aruba later on this month. The couple have a daughter together.
man the gotcha gotcha is on her now!
I love you Ashanti. Your album is hot
I honestly do not care for this people anymore. They better leave people alone because i have seen many of this happening to our people, and now it is time to say enough is enough. Let the singer do her thing. Anyway I just got her new CD, which is very hot.
Yea I thought the video was too grotesque honestly. Congrats to Tim!
I’m sick of Ashanti, and congrats to Timbaland.
WOW
people are so effing
sensitive !
wtf they HATIN
on my girl
ashanti
still love yu girl !
&& yall know yall be watchin
that same
‘grotesque’ shit
on CSI
smh…
damn ppl are crazy news VIDEO got me a lil scared
lawd this is the most i have ever seen or heard ashanti in these past couple weeks than these past 6 yrs. damn whats the problem, people bitch and moan about anything
congrats to timbo!!! where magoo?
Ashanti: I get what she was trying to do, but damn. something got lost in translation w/ her n her people. They know better..
Timbaland: Congratulations, she’s beautiful and seems cool.
ashanti- leave da girl alone
tim- congrats n his wife is so pretty
Worse things than her video, honestly, it only showed blood, its not like she actually killed him..
Congrats to Timb.
Wow @ that the pick of Ashanti.. I heard her song Good stuff or something what ever it is called I liked it.
Congrats to Timbo, Marriage is a beautiful thing. I pray I get that chance..
Good luck Tim does she only have one eye, if not what’s up with the hair
I sent one of those to my ex it was funny to me but ashanti keep doing you love the album…congrats timbo!!
How the hell do you call that “hating” ? That was a stupid move on Ashanti and her promotional teams behalf. Grotesque or not the whole idea was dumb as hell. Desperate for some damn album sales, she could sell without all of that unnecessary crap.
Congrats to Timbaland and his wife =)
Also, it’s nice that some of you thought her cd was good. I thought it would sell at least 100k I think she came in at number 6 or 7. I didn’t buy because the reviews were mixed. So, for those of you who say its good is it every track good or most of the cd good?
that Ashanti viral video was crazy. i don’t understand what “black children will die” has to do with anything.
WHO IS ASHANTI???
lmao @ Ashanti….she needs to sit her non talented ass down! What a mess she is! Where’s Beyonce when we need Her to save the Day!!! LOL
We have to be role models for today’s youth and alot of young people look up to her and would love to be her and there are some “crazy” ones who would make fiction into reality if the song resembles something that they may be going through…(long sentence:)
Timbaland looks really good! Congrats!
ok her video was cool but whats up with the video sayin “black children will die?” the fck that gotta do with her album?im a big ashanti fan but even i can say that was not appropriate,that was a stupid idea………..
congrats timbo
DAMN! WHY EVERYBODY HATIN ON MY GIRL ASHANTI!
CONGRATS TO TIM
The only thing that I don’t understand is the “Black Children Will Die”. Other than that I loved the video!! Hell, she got the idea from the white show on oxygen “Snapped”. With all the violence on t.v. this is PG rated.lamo. Ashanti always had creative videos!! Ya’ll remember “Rain on Me”? She did that and so did my boo larenz tate.haha. Ne who congrats to Timberland, didn’t even know he had a child!!
“Smash her in the grill like plah” — “Black Children Will Die” this campaign is so damn dumb that it’s actually Friggin Hilarious!!! This is truly a what the hell were you thinking moment” … wow, I can’t stop laughing. Ashanti’s camp done lost they minds!
What the hell…..
shes so unauthentic
I like the video its different. Seriously though the same content of things go on in regular tv programming and movies so why picket just her, why not picket Law and Order, CSI, Gladiator etc….?
Congrats Tim…is it me or does she strongly resemble Aaliyah?
I hear she barely sold 80,000 this week. Damn…Kelly Rowland even sold more than that.
Poor Ashanti….I guess the copying and style stealing didnt do much for her.
Oh and congrats to Tim.
To all the people that dislike Ashanti
Why?
What Have she done for you to dislike her?
Everybody is not Beyonce – Beyonce has her own style the same as Ashanti she has her own style.
But Why Hate Her?
Wow some people didn’t even watch the video and are commenting on what they don’t know. That video was so dumb, I’m sure I’ve lost brain cells from watching it. How stupid. Not to mention foolish!
Ashanti fans are crazy…they call everyone a hater…they should be on her payroll, seriously.
As I said before, NOT A GOOD IDEA to promote a damn album. They could have been a bit more creative. As far as tv shows like law & order, csi, etc. I don’t see what that has to do with a singer who has millions of young fans. Young children and teens do not idolize such shows like they idolize a singer. So that argument holds no weight. My daughter likes her song and she is 7. I will not allow her to watch the video and frankly after this, she will no longer be allowed to listen to Ashanti anymore.
congrats Timbaland she is a very pretty lady!
The video been out for how long and now they finally have a problem with it?? I mean they show everything on t.v. anyway now a days like sex what’s the difference with a lil fake blood?
Congrats to Tim but I must admit that After Usher and Jay Tied the knot they set the pattern for all the dudes in the music industry to follow…
People you need to check your facts, the video is not really the problem its the promotion of sending the gotcha message about people getting murdered and all of that, go to cnn and watch the report, the idea to do that was insane and stupid.
Thank you #37…i’m tellin these kids are hard head, lol
EB-STAR
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 2008 /
“Smash her in the grill like plah” — “Black Children Will Die” this campaign is so damn dumb that it’s actually Friggin Hilarious!!! This is truly a what the hell were you thinking moment” … wow, I can’t stop laughing. Ashanti’s camp done lost they minds!
I agree.
LMAO Um Basically her creative expression wasn’t displayed correctly. The video was in my opinion HOT and she didn’t kill the guy at the end she thought about it and then thought of all the repercussions, but the GRAM and Mini news report was a bit creepy with the “Smash her in the grill like plah”, and I can totally see someone taking that out of context. Ashanti’s advertisement team should of said NO, because if someone does die or get killed they’ll be pointing the finger at R&B just like that did Rap…..you know how it is…
its pretty stupid to get scared over a gotcha gram. i sent a couple and seriously it is all out of fun. these parents are just stupid, especially for saying that it is inappropriate for their children. i mean, since they are on the subject, why not get on all the porn sites? now that is very available to the public especially children. and if you listen on the end of the gotcha gram, it says that they dont condone this type of act and it is for promotional purposes only. -SMH- at them not realizing that. this whole thing is stupid and unnecessary.
IM ASHANTIS BIGGEST FAN……I MUST SAY, I WAS WONDERING HOW LONG IT WAS GONNA TAKE FOR SOMEONE TO GET THE WHOLE “IDEA” or “CONCEPT” OF THE VIDEO WRONG….THEY JUST DONT WANNA SEE HER SHINE CAUSE THE VIDEO CLEARLY SHOWS AN EVERYDAY SCENERIO…..ANYWAYS THE ALBUM IS DOPE AND I HOPE IT GOES PLATINUM…..
I liked her album, but that ish was straight up revolting.
Ok, I’ve done the gotchgram and I find it hilarious, It’s called a prank. This is on Universal’s WEBSITE, not Ashanti’s official website. Now someone had to insert the name Black Children must Die to appear, so whoever sent that in wanted to get the attention they were looking for. And Bam, here it is. What I find funny is that they waited this long to say something, I saw this and sent several of these several months ago, so this has nothing to do with sales, it’s more of a sabotage. The video to the way that I love you is edited for television, so your not gonna see knives, blood stains and a body in the tub. When I watch the video online, Ashanti’s is not stabbing anyone. And as I remember this video was inspired by Snapped (Oxygen Network), so they need to protest CSI, Law and Order, SVU, CI, and loads more of crap on TV. Why didn’t they go after them, well it’s all about bashing a Woman and someone of color. Your not gonna see them go after the shows that are on daytime. And now people are gonna find another scapegoat for not supervising their children and blaming crime on an Artist again. Now their protesting online websites, what’s next?
blog sites
Congratulations Timb, I’m glad your stepping up to the plate to be a father and a good husband. We need a lot more men like you.
Why ARe All of the sudden black parents are “concerned?” where are they when their daughters watch rihanna or beyonce on the tv then try to dress like them? where are the parents when their son watch the game or 50 cent and start calling women b-i-tches?
they need to boycott pornographic like behavior / gang related video and much more people are so hypocrite no one is saying anything about everything else but ashanto because she doesnt have an intimidating father to back her up
I admit that it is disturbing when you really give it a tought but i first glance when i received one i laughed out loud and send one back up
Black people are so hypocrite all of the sudden parents are responsible? where have you been all along? THis is some b-u-llshit with or without ashanti if your daughter is set to become a murderer she will nothing that you can say or do will change that so get a life !!!!!!
the ashanti mess is ridiculous but congrats to tim
I don’t think she looks great in this picture. I view her other better looking pics on Blackcentury.com a fews days ago. She is really beautiful then.
Ashanti….??? That pic is priceless…..
Well after selling only 80,000+ copies I guess this could be viewed as “good promotion”, lol. It may actually spark interest in her project. I still think there are more important things to gripe about, but that’s just me.
Calire, y’all been saying Ashanti needs to sit down for 71/2 years now. Obviously, you didn’t get the message, that no matter how much you type sit down, she’s non-talented, and can’t sing. It didn’t work or wish her away. She has a new album out, still singing (whether you think she’s talented or not), still performing and doing tours and making videos. What does that tell you? Maybe you shouldn’t concern yourself with artist you don’t like. So again, don”t look at what she’s doing, since she’s not to your liking. Ignore her, it’s not hard.
Anyway, back to the video drama. She talked about this before. Anyway, how it fits in the video idea, is her video concept is centered around the show called Snapped on the O channel. The show is basically like a Court TV/Forensic files type doc show, on women who murder their signicant others for domestic reasons (cheating ect…). Because of the subject matter of The Way That I Love You, they decided to use that concept for her video. The director Kevin Bray (who does CSI/Law & Order), did the video.
Basically, where Ashanti kills her boyfriend for cheating. In the end of the video, you see she was just fantasizing about it. She tosses him his phone and she leaves. Anyway, with the Gotcha Gram, the whole idea, is to send a gram to your S/O or whoever your partner is. You choose what their offense is in the relationship (IE: cheating, emotionally unavailable ect…), you can even put their picture.
You choose what weapon you want to use (like the video). You send it in an e-mail. Anyway, people who use it, are clearly and boldly informed that it is not real. By letter and vocal recording. So it’s not like they aren’t informed that it’s not a real thing. I tried it and had a good laugh, when she first put it out. It’s a prank, nothing more. Anyway, where were these people 2-3 months ago when it was out and she was talking about it? I don’t know where this whoe “black children will die” thing came from. That was never part of this. I’m not one bit suprised by the petiton or attention. It’s 2002 all over again.
kmniles, this has nothing to do with her record sales. The Gotcha Gram stuff was already up long before her album release. People were already using it 3 months ago. Just these parents and protesters decided to “complain” about it now. Either way, this petiton and protesting is nothing new. Remember when her first album dropped? Y’all made a big stink about her getting the Aretha Franklyn Soul Train Entertainer Of The Year award. She don’t deserve it. She can’t sing, she’s a talentless hack. Somebody’s name as prestigous as Aretha’s, don’t need to be associated with non-talented trash like that. Y’all done forgot. She got her award, and all the pettiton rucus came and went. It dind’t matter or do nothing. Neither will this.
Wow at the comments, Its sad when people don’t know what their talking about but whateva. It wasn’t Ashanti idea to make the gotcha gram it was Universal’s. As far as her actual video, its one of the most creative videos she or any one in the “R&B” genre has done. Its sad when parents don’t go this hard for ass shaking and titties poppin everywhere, but when an artist gets creative they act brand new. And the video was directed by a CSI/Law &order director so go protest the network, Its really not that serious. Im pretty sure your kids are the ones blowing up buildings and shooting classmates SMH.
All these groups that bitch about every little thing need to fuck off and learn what individual and choice mean.
Leave Ashanti Be
By Erik Hayes
In midst of recent controversy regarding Ashanti and her video, ‘The Way That I Love You’, and her site which host the ‘Gotchagram’, http://thewaythatiloveyou.com, I would like to take the time out to dismiss the acquisitions that Ashanti deliberately used the material in terms of promoting violence, let alone a desperate attempt to ‘sell records’. Late protest that have sparked are well past due, and if the video or the site were nearly as big of a problem that the situation suggest, then the problem should have been brought to light well before June 10th, 2008. The video was shot in February 2008, and was released February 28th, 2008. The case prompts a four month difference.
Since then the video has been well received by the general-media and has received a decent amount of airplay. Directed by Kevin Bray, Ashanti portrays a woman who has ‘Snapped’ on her significant other because she found out that he was cheating. The concept itself came from a show broad cast on television via Oh Oxygen Network, Snapped.
No where in the video does Ashanti showcase an act of violence. She has also stated numerous times in countless interviews that she is all about the peace and does not condone violence. The video is simply an artistic expression for the lead single for her latest LP, ‘The Declaration’, released June 3rd, 2008.
If Ashanti’s video appears as being ‘too violent’, and promotes the violence to our youth, then it’s about time to seriously reevaluate what we allow on television. ‘Snapped’, in example, showcases everything depicted in Ashanti’s video, and then some. There are other shows that also showcase violence, gore, and brutality. MTV host a show entitled ‘Scarred’, which is by far more brutal than Ashanti’s video, in which need not go into detail. Other shows include Captured, Americas Most Wanted, and a number of reality shows that showcase violence. Also, on http://www.youtube.com, which is a very popular website, viewed by millions daily, there are many videos hosted that promote much harsh violence with tags such as ‘street fights’, ‘school fights’, ‘gang fights bloods vs crips’, and gang violence’.
Should we protest them too? If Ashanti’s video need be, then we should probably consider the possibility.
The ‘Gotchagram’, which has been up for more than two months, is nothing more than a mere joke. Users are prompted to include their name and a victim’s name, followed by a choice of weapons to use, and the reason why this ‘victim’ has been murdered. Thus, a fake news report is sent to the victims email, and at the end of the parody an electronic voice disclaims the news report and states exclusively that Ashanti and her team do not promote violence. To take matters a step further, whilst in promotion for her latest LP, Ashanti has not mentioned the Gotchagram as a part of her campaign, but instead another site, entitled I Declare Me.
This site, which can be viewed at http://ideclareme.com, is a positive website for women who are going through problems to go to and express their emotions and tell their story. In turn, Ashanti will personally blog back and sponsor scholarships. This is only one of the positive things that Ashanti is doing for the youth to go along with the many other positive things she has done in the past, including her Lid Rock campaign in 2003.
In contrast to the recent negative attention Ashanti has received, Ashanti has never been about violence, and anyone who knows her would know that. She is a woman who has always promoted peace, love, and happiness. She wears a permanent smile whilst out in public, and has always taken her time to do whatever it was that she could when possible, though triumphed in her own personal relationships.
Instead of paying attention to a simple error, which has been corrected with the link to the ‘Gotchagram’ being removed, the attention need not be on Ashanti, but on the more serious problems that go about in our communities, and that showcase on television. Like the fact that a female is allowed to take off her clothes and erotically expose themselves on camera for a music video, but she can’t hold a knife on television. Like the fact that a knife probably kills less people annually than AIDS/HIV. Or even like the fact that most influence comes from the events that happen in the home area.
Parents tend use the media as an excuse for their children behaving the way that they do nowadays. Truth be told, if any parent were truly that concerned, the media would not play a role in raising or influencing their children. Instead of going out to protest against a cause as useless as a music video by Ashanti, maybe they should be at the park with their child(ren), teaching them what’s wrong from right. That is their job, not Ashanti’s.
Leave Ashanti be.
Congrats Timbaland!
LMMFAO….ASHANTI IS A HOTT MESS!!! THAT CHILD IS HORRIBLE!!! UGH… NO COMMENT!!!
CONGRATS TO TIMBO… WHOOP WHOOOOOOOOOOOOP!!!
for all y’all defending ashanti talking about,” just leave her alone!!” “let her be!!”, blah, blah, blah… you’re absolutely right… if we all just left her alone and never talked about her again, whether she’s sending violent ‘gotchagrams’ out or tryin to sell a whack album, maybe her non-talented ass will just disappear!! dear lord i hope she just goes away. so everybody, lovers and haters of ashanti, just shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…..
Queen? No comment yet you commented? Get a life. Matter fact a lot of y’all need to get a life. You don’t like Ashanti then why comment? It’s old already. The girl…no excuse me the woman has been out since 2002. No matter how much people hate she’s still doing her thing regardless AND will continue to do so. “I can’t stand her” “She’s horrible” Y’all don’t even know her! I can’t begin to say how sweet and how incredibly nice she is. I don’t understand how people can be so disrespectful to someone who is always smiling and in good spirits. Does she have to be rude like artists such as Keyshia Cole to get respect? Does she have to prove the stereotype that all black female are angry? You WOULD THINK that our black community would stand up for positive role models such as Ashanti, but yet y’all continue to bash her. People glorify artist such as Lil Wayne yet he LITERALLY glorifies drugs and gangs. THAT’S OUR hero at the moment. CRAZY.
And like it was stated in previous comments Ashanti DID NOT. I repeat DID NOT come up with this idea. Her label did and she supported it. I mean give the woman/label credit for stepping out the box. What she did in this video has NEVER been done and that is why she is nominated for Video of the year and her airplay for the video continues to increase every week. The Gotcha Gram was HILARIOUS. If anyone else would of did this it would of been talked about for MONTHS and PRAISED. The idea was simply creative. How can we judge a parody but YET we have videos of half naked women, drugs and violence in rappers’ videos glorified? How old is the Gotcha Gram and video anyway? Get a life. Hell the woman in SEVERAL interviews has constantly said she does not condone violence. She brought to you real life issues and emotions. POINT BLANK.
And those who MUST mention her album sales. That is completely fine Ashanti sold 80k. She’s accomplished so much and there’s no doubt in my mind or others that this cd WILL be a success. NEVER count the underdog out. Only the strong survive. If she survived the hate in 2002 and the trial in 2004 and her one time mentor turning his back on her she can survive ANYTHING. I just pray that one day JUST ONE DAY people will leave her alone and stop being so got damn malicious.
You don’t like Ashanti DO NOT COMMENT. No one cares about her but the same people who don’t care are the first ones to comment on a story about her or when she makes public appearances all of sudden they love her. It NEVER fails.
Shame on the women who constantly bash her when she has a website dedicated to YALL (ideclareme.com). Or the fact that she promoted the stop of domestic violence. Or how she went and took out a young female fan who had a terminally ill disease and bought her a tiffany bracelet afterwards. Being a woman is hard enough and the way we turn on each other and on our own race is PATHETIC.
You don’t have to like Ashanti nor do you have to buy her cd, but LEAVE THE WOMAN ALONE. Regardless of what YOU think she has plenty of fans that’s going to hold her down. She’s not trying to be Beyonce or anyone else. STOP TRYING TO COMPARE HER to others when she and the other artists don’t even have problems.
Ashanti hold your head up.
SHE SOLD 90K ACTUALLY..AND WITH FREE PROMO..WILL PROBADLY SELL MORE.I AGREE WITH # 45..PEOPLE JUS CONSTANTLY TALK DOWN ON HER…BUT AS LONG AS HER FANS STAND BEHIND HER….U LIL HATERS OUT THERE DONT MATTER….PEOPLE SHOULD B CONCERNED ABOUT MORE STUFF…..AND GO PROTEST WHATS REALLY IMPORTANT…LETS FOCUS ON THE ISLAM GROUP THAT STANDS OUTSIDE ..AND EXPRESSES HATERED AGAINST BLACK WOMEN AND HOW ALL BLACK WOMEN ARE GOING TO DIE….ITS ON YOUTUBE..GO PROTEST THEM.
BUT LIK ASHANTI STATES IN HER ALBUM THANK YOUS: BIG UPs TO ALL MY HATERS!!!!!
THE DECLARATION IN STORES NOW!!!!!!!!!!
Damn……Ashanti cant seem to catch a break, i really think ole girl’s time is up in the music industry maybe she should give it up and it aint even hating. I mean how do you go from selling 500,000 in your first week to selling 80,000+ my only question is where have all her fans gone??? look at the big differenence in those numbers……i dread to think what her next her is gonna sell.