The controversy surrounding Summer Jam continues but this time, it surrounds Joe Budden. No, the ex-rapper wasn’t scheduled to perform at the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York on June 4th. However, he was apparently invited as a guest to this year’s festivities. Things apparently got shaky when he tried to get to his seat, as explained on his eponymous podcast. “This is a new theater here, new show in town, we are excited to just be here. You could feel the excitement,” he said. “But anyway, I get there, the girl says, ‘Are you a seat filler?'”
Budden explained that a large portion of the crowd consisted of “Long Island radio head people” who were “ not used to famous people wandering around.” “So I said, ‘No, I am not a seat filler.’ And she said, ‘Alright, who are you with?’ And I said, ‘Me.’ And then she said, ‘No, what I’m saying is what organization are you with?’ And then I said, ‘Ma’am, I don’t think you understand what I’m saying to you. I’m the organization. Please direct me to my f***ing tickets.'”
Ebro Fires Back At Joe Budden
Joe Budden's comments eventually got on the radar of Hot 97 host Ebro, who relayed it to the Summer Jam team and they weren’t necessarily happy about it. First, Ebro explained that Summer Jam solely profits from sponsors rather than ticket sales, so there would be no need to use “seat fillers.” “Most ridiculous lie ever told,” TT Torrez said in a group chat along with Ebro and Funk Flex. “Trying to use his platform to dimension our brand when he was an invited guest to our show. I really don’t understand the reasoning for this!”
Another exchange with another Hot 97 employee, Brad, revealed that Joe Budden also extended a thank you text for the hospitality. “What’s Joe’s angle here? Clicks?” Brad said. “Also, obviously not true [as] I was the one who met him and brought him backstage and he wasn’t even acknowledging fans saying what up, let alone having full on convos.” In response, he and Ebro agreed to “share this.”
A “Non Story”
Ebro shared the slew of text messages with the tweet reading, “Since I don’t manage Summer Jam any longer the team that does has a message for ya’ll…. And @JoeBudden.” In response, Budden asked, “What’s this about?” to which Ebro said, “Tweets. Play along. Say something controversial.” Once a fan brought up Budden’s comments on his podcast, he clarified, “That lady didn’t even work for Hot… non story here.” Check out the exchange below.