Music|Gettomasa’s choice of words on the stage of the Himos Juhannus festival have sparked discussion on social media. The artist apologizes for what he said via email through his representative.
Rap artist The ghetto, that is Aleksi Lehikoinencaused aggravation with his choice of words on the midsummer festival stage.
When performing at the Himos Midsummer festival on Midsummer’s Day, Gettomasa called his audience “dog shit”, among other things. In addition, the artist apparently urged audience members who, in his opinion, reacted weakly, to leave “if they are not interested”.
The person who was there earlier told about it Central Finland.
In the anonymous social media messaging service Jodel, Gettomasa’s choice of words has sparked a lively discussion. Several different commentators say that Gettomasa has called his audience “disabled” many times.
“I like it myself [Getto]a lot about masa’s music, but I have a severely mentally disabled brother, so this kind of thing is offensive,” one commenter writes.
Leafy agrees to comment on the matter only by e-mailing the spokesperson of his label PME Records Sarah Everin through.
“Calling someone disabled is not acceptable, and it is the kind of outdated terminology that I have to completely remove from my own vocabulary,” Lehikoinen’s statement states.
“It’s embarrassing and I humbly apologize for it. At a gig, I tend to behave provocatively at certain points in the show, but this time the choice of words really didn’t go well. I will make sure that in the future this term will never be heard again, even if the provocative program number remains part of the whole.”
There has been a lively discussion in Jodel about Gettomasa’s speeches to his audience.
Also Himos Midsummer promoter Janne Tamminen condemns Gettomasa’s use of language.
“We cannot accept such talk under any circumstances. I just went over the matter on the phone with the artist’s representative, and on that end they also admitted the inappropriateness of the speeches and sincerely regretted the matter,” Tamminen commented by email.
The Himos Juhannus festival says on its website that the event has zero tolerance for harassment. There is also a form on the website that you can use to report discrimination or other inappropriate behavior.
According to Tamminen, the form can also be used to report the artist’s use of language if necessary. According to him, all matters reported on the form will be processed.
“If you feel that you have been offended by the speech that happened on stage, of course you can report it to us using the form. As we have done now, we have been in contact with the artist’s representative and reviewed the matter.”
Gettomasa is one of Finland’s most famous rap artists. The Emma-awarded artist, who has released five albums, is also known for his sudden wrong communication and sharp relationship with the media.
In 2022, the artist attracted attention For Central Finns with an interview he gave, which the magazine exceptionally published verbatim. In the interview, Lehikoinen belittled the journalist’s professionalism and refused to discuss his career. Keskisuomainen’s decision led to a discussion about the media’s operating methods, the management of interviewees’ publicity and Gettomasa of a dramatic media relationship.