Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Azealia Banks accuses Australian audiences of being 'violent, belligerent and terrible to play for'

The rapper took a swipe at her Australian fans just after playing at the Splendour in the Grass festival

Heather Saul
Tuesday 28 July 2015 17:08 BST
Comments
Azealia Banks performs on stage during day one of the Wireless Festival at Perry Park in Birmingham
Azealia Banks performs on stage during day one of the Wireless Festival at Perry Park in Birmingham (PA)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Azealia Banks has accused her Australian fans of being "terrible" and dangerous to play for, shortly after pulling in the biggest crowd at the Splendour in the Grass festival in Byron Bay.

The outspoken rapper responded in a typically forthright fashion to a tweet from radio broadcaster Paul Brown, who congratulated her for “completing her first ever full Australian concert”. His tweet was apparently a reference to her walking out at festivals in Melbourne and Sydney when crowds threw cans at her.

Banks responded by accusing Australian audiences of being “violent and belligerent" and telling Brown she would not put her safety at risk. In a separate tweet, she also complained about Australia being too far away to be worth travelling to for performances, but added: “I love my fans and will do anything to make them happy."

The 24-year-old rarely holds back on Twitter, and has in the past used it to accuse Iggy Azalea of cultural appropriation during their protracted public feud, defend her use of the word f****t and tell Lily Allen her husband was "ugly" and looked like a thumb.

Banks also joined Nicki Minaj in calling out racism within the music industry with tweets claiming her work is overlooked because the US "doesn’t like opinionated black women".

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in