Got Tickets to See Anita Baker? Do Yourself a Favor and Leave Your Phone at Home

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 31: Anita Baker performs with Lalah Hathaway during Future X Sounds Concert at John Anson Ford Amphitheatre on August 31, 2019 in Hollywood, California.

Auntie Anita is back in the news, making headlines this week for her diva-like behavior on tour. And this time, there was very little “Sweet Love” at Baker’s December show at the Toyota Center in Houston.

During a performance of her hit “Feel the Need,” Baker did a little improv, asking fans to stop recording her performance on their phones.

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“I’m hollering!!!!?????? Auntie done got crazy on us,” wrote one user. “Not me sending this to my mama like, “This ya mans?” wrote another. And not to be outdone, this one, “this must be the shein or temu anita baker.”

Although some concertgoers don’t feel like they got their money’s worth, other die hard fans were quick to defend her. André Marcel Harris jumped on X to respond to a TikTok user accusing Baker of singing only 4 songs and leaving out her mega hit, “Sweet Love.”

“We seem to have went to two different concerts at the same time,” he says in his video post.

The diva is not the only artist who has gotten testy with fans:

Ari Lennox wore a helmet on stage for a November 30 show in Oakland after a heated exchange with someone in the audience the night before who threw a bottle at her.

Latto went ham on a fan in the middle of her set for throwing an object on stage at her show.

And rapper Blueface pushed a female fan to the ground during a show in Utah this week after a female fan allegedly threw ice on stage.

But Auntie Anita Baker is not bothered. She took the time to clap back at her social media hecklers quoting Beyoncé in a December 17 post on X writing,“When they realize, they can’t Stop Your Blessings?... they simply Lie. As in, Liability Screenshots? Are 4Ever. Lyrics, I’m as petty as you are.”

This isn’t the first time Baker’s behavior has had folks talking. She’s been accused of shading both Maxwell and Luther Vandross on tour. And in May, legendary R&B artist Babyface confirmed on Instagram that he was nixed as Baker’s opening act “in order to give Ms. Baker her space and time to perform her show in its entirety.”

I’ll be the first to say that Anita Baker is one of the most talented artists of our time and deserves to be treated with respect. But if she doesn’t want to be filmed in the age of cell phones and social media, maybe she’s already given us the best that she’s got.

I wouldn’t be mad at Ms. Baker if she put touring behind her and just collected her checks for all of those classic hits. We still love you, Auntie.

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