Ashanti's blood-splattered videos for her single, "The Way That I Love You," sparked a protest earlier this week in Los Angeles calling Universal Records to remove the clips from the Internet.
Led by civil-rights organization Project Islamic Hope and its leader Najee Ali, more than two dozen parents and religious leaders gathered outside the west coast Universal/Motown offices on Tuesday (June 10) to voice their displeasure with the videos.
The clip features a scorned lover, played by Ashanti, who gets revenge on her cheating boyfriend by stabbing him to death. A murder scene with the boyfriend's body in a tub and a bloody knife are among the images featured in it.
A separate promotional video includes a fake news reports about a killing spree allegedly inspired by Ashanti's love crime, as well as bloody walls with the words "black children will die" smeared on them. Prior to the protest it, the promo video was viewable on TheWayThatILoveYou.com, but the site has since been removed.
The site allowed visitors to send customized versions of the promotional video called "gotchagrams," with options to input a friend's name, their "crime" and "weapon of choice."
"Following discussions with Ashanti, we have jointly decided to remove the TheWayThatILoveYou.com website that hosts the Gotchagram," reads a statement from Universal. "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."
"The Way That I Love You" is the first single from her new album "The Declaration," which debuts this week at No. 6 on The Billboard 200.
Led by civil-rights organization Project Islamic Hope and its leader Najee Ali, more than two dozen parents and religious leaders gathered outside the west coast Universal/Motown offices on Tuesday (June 10) to voice their displeasure with the videos.
The clip features a scorned lover, played by Ashanti, who gets revenge on her cheating boyfriend by stabbing him to death. A murder scene with the boyfriend's body in a tub and a bloody knife are among the images featured in it.
A separate promotional video includes a fake news reports about a killing spree allegedly inspired by Ashanti's love crime, as well as bloody walls with the words "black children will die" smeared on them. Prior to the protest it, the promo video was viewable on TheWayThatILoveYou.com, but the site has since been removed.
The site allowed visitors to send customized versions of the promotional video called "gotchagrams," with options to input a friend's name, their "crime" and "weapon of choice."
"Following discussions with Ashanti, we have jointly decided to remove the TheWayThatILoveYou.com website that hosts the Gotchagram," reads a statement from Universal. "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."
"The Way That I Love You" is the first single from her new album "The Declaration," which debuts this week at No. 6 on The Billboard 200.
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