Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande have slammed rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine after he accused them of cheating their way to the top of the charts.
The rapper was recently released from prison because of the coronavirus pandemic and placed under house arrest, and now that he is back on the music scene, he has slammed Bieber and Grande after their song 'Stuck With U' debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
He made the accusation after his own song 'Gooba' debuted at number three.
Listen to the rapper make the claims below:"It's all manipulated. It's all fabricated. You can buy number ones," he moaned in a video posted to Instagram stories.
In the video, the rapper referenced a forecast record labels receive before the Billboard chart's official drop online, which claimed that his single would debut at number two and 'Stuck With U' would debut at number five.
However, he claims that Bieber and Grande managed to claim the number one spot "at the last second" when Grande purchased 60,000 units, and an alleged "investigation" by Tekashi's team found that 30,000 units of the song - which is raising money for First Responders Children's Foundation - had been bought with "six credit cards".
Grande was the first of the two to hit back at the rapper's claims, writing: "Anyone who knows me or has followed me for a while knows that numbers aren't the driving force in anything I do. I'm grateful to sing. Grateful to have people who want to listen. Grateful to even be here at all…. my fans bought the song. JUSTIN'S fans bought the song. OUR fans bought this song (never more than four copies each, AS THE RULES STATE) [sic]."
"They are ride or die motherfuckers and I thank god every day that I have them in my life. not just when they fight for us to win (even when i ask them not to as i did this week) but because they're some of the greatest people I know. Sales count for more than streams. U can not discredit this as hard as u try. [sic]"
The former Disney star didn't name Tekashi, but added: "To anybody that is displeased with their placement on the chart this week… I ask u to take a moment to humble yourself. Be grateful you're even here… congratulations to all my talented ass peers in the top ten this week. Even number three."
Justin Bieber also responded to the recently released rapper's claims on his Instagram stories, writing: "60,000 units came because we don't disclose our numbers until end of week. That's called strategy."
The 'Baby' singer continued: "The rules are clear one credit card can buy max 4 copies. Anything over that the entire amount gets thrown out. Neilsen company checks this and found all our sales were legit because our fans are amazing and bought them. Don’t discredit our fan base with false info."
"This is my song with Ariana Grande and I'm honored to work with her to help raise money for a great cause. If you gonna say her name make sure you say mine because it's our song."
Scooter Braun, the pair's manager, repeated what Bieber wrote, saying: "No one should discredit your amazing fan base with lies."
Tekashi responded again on Instagram, writing that he is speaking for the "millions of kids that come from nothing". Addressing Grande specifically, he added: "Not saying that you not talented… you just don’t understand my pain. My frustration is from Billboard."
Billboard has not commented on the rapper's claims.
