Promoter slams Azealia Banks for behaviour on Australia tour

Bizarro, one of the promoters behind Azealia Banks’ troubled recent tour of Australian and New Zealand, has released a statement criticising the New York-based 212 rapper as the worst client they have worked with.

Plagued by scandal, with last-minute show cancellations, social media outbursts and wildly varied sets, Banks has vowed to never visit Australia again shores again.

With Banks having arrived late to several commitments throughout the tour and repeatedly causing confusion on social media, Bizzaro’s statement slammed her as the most “disgraceful” client they’ve ever worked with.

Responsible for two of Banks’ shows as part of her Australia and New Zealand tour, in a deal finalised in May with touring agency Point Blank Group, Bizzaro’s statement slammed her as the most “disgraceful” client they’ve ever worked with claims the star was always late and showed “lack of care” towards fans.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Bizarro said the past fortnight had been its most “physically and mentally draining” ever, suggesting it wasn’t “naive” to Banks’s reputation but felt she “meant well” and had been over-sensationalised in the media.”

It added “the lack of care she shows to her team, the people she works with and her fans was truly disappointing to see.

“She was not present for any press opportunities, she failed to arrive at any event in a timely manner, she willingly posted inaccurate, disrespectful and slanderous content online, and her lack of care and appreciation for her fans, who make such an event possible, was disgraceful.”

In a final outburst on Instagram earlier on Tuesday, Banks claimed she had not been paid by Bizarro and Point Productions who, she said were “trying to cite all these stupid things as reasons not to pay me a dime” and had flown “all the way across the world to go home empty handed.”

She wrote on Instagram on Tuesday “in all this attempt to assassinate my character there’s no mention of my mother fucking money, where is the money bitch, where the cash at?

“… you’re trying to use a character assassination as a means to not pay someone for work that they did, just say you’re broke and fucking go.”

Bizarro slammed the claims as “slanderous” and “entirely false”, advising “whilst we have paid our fees to Azealia’s touring agent, we have also been led to believe that the majority of her tour has been paid to her personally in full, despite her willingness to burn down every show of the run,” Bizarro said, adding it had lost “tens of thousands” of dollars due to cancelled shows.

Visa troubles prevented Banks from flying to Melbourne up to 24 hours before her scheduled show on 10th December - the first time Bizarro said it was informed of the issue.

Bizarro said it did “everything” to aid the application process on the morning of the show but final approval arrived too late, resulting in the postponement of her first performance hours before doors.

Bizarro alleged the day of the following Sydney show at the Enmore Theatre, Banks arrived 30 minutes late, sent “abusive” messages to her manager and requested no other artists backstage. The performance was widely lauded by fans.

Bizarro said there had been “consistent mention” the process would be worth it due to her intention to return to Australia in 2023. “She told us that she loved being here and that she needed to get out of Miami,” it said.

The following day, Banks cancelled her show in Brisbane hours before she was due to go on stage, citing a past concert in the city as “the most racist, most demoralising experience of my fucking life” and Australia as an “utterly miserable” country.

Image: Azealia Banks on stage. Credit: Shutterstock.