UPDATE
10:18 AM PT — We have some clarity now. Babyface tells TMZ … “I would never shade Anita Baker. I have too much love and respect for her, and I look forward to continuing the tour. I was just reiterating what the stage hand was saying following all of the tech difficulties.
UPDATE
Translation: Babyface’s legion of upset fans can stand down. He and Anita are cool.
Babyface fans are enraged the plug was pulled on his latest performance, something he seemed to blame on the show’s headliner, Anita Baker — which is odd, because the actual villain is technology … and time.
🗣️Boooooooo @babyface #anitabaker refund everyone who came out, flights, hotels, rentals to see you and no show because of “technical difficulties” pic.twitter.com/RAyOfLJQC1
— Prettyuhmazing (@prettyuhmazing) May 11, 2023
@prettyuhmazing
Anita and Babyface’s tour stopped in Newark, NJ Wednesday night, and slowly turned into a nightmare for fans. The show was delayed 2 hours, and when it finally started the audience was told there were “technical issues” and Babyface, the opening act, would not be performing. The boos rained down immediately.
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The fan rage really boiled over, though, when Babyface posted a message explaining why he didn’t go on, saying … “I was asked not to perform in order to give Ms. Baker her space and time to perform her show in its entirety.”
After that, the comment section was lit, with many folks teeing off on Auntie Anita … accusing her of all sorts of diva-ness.
However, sources involved in the production tell TMZ … the “technical issue” was a problem with the massive video wall for Anita’s set — we’re told the touring company could not get it to work properly — and there were also sound problems.
After such a long delay, the whole show was up against curfew — the concert had to end by 11 PM — and tough decisions had to be made. We’re told there was a discussion about Babyface shortening his usual 1-hour set, but ultimately that didn’t happen.
Anita did go on around 9 PM and perform her full set, but she still had to combat audio issues … and those crappy video screens.
As for why Babyface seemingly shaded Anita so badly … it’s a mystery. Our sources say there have been no signs of tension between them during the tour, which started back in January. We’ve reached out to his camp, but no word back yet.