Even AI celebrities can get canceled! Heralded as the first AI artist signed to a major label, virtual rapper FN Meka made headlines when he was signed — and promptly dropped — by Capitol Records.
On Aug. 24, Capitol Record dropped FN Meka from its roster following accusations the AI artist appropriated Black culture. FN Meka was also slammed for his repeated use of the N-word in his song lyrics.
He was signed for just over a week.
Industry Blackout, an organization that pushes for equality in the music business, led the charge against FN Meka, calling the AI rapper "an amalgamation of gross stereotypes" in a statement posted on social media.
The collective demanded Capitol Records terminate their partnership with FN Meka, issue a public apology and remove his song from "all platforms."
Capitol Records responded by announcing it had "severed ties" with the virtual rapper "effective immediately" in a statement, according to Newsweek.
"We offer our deepest apologies to the Black community for our insensitivity in signing this project without asking enough questions about equity and the creative process behind it," the statement read. "We thank those who have reached out to us with constructive feedback in the past couple of days — your input was invaluable as we came to the decision to end our association with the project."
Capitol Records also pulled FN Meka's debut single, "Florida Water," from streaming services.
FN Meka was developed in 2019 by Anthony Martini and Brandon Le of VR company Factory New.
The virtual rapper currently has more than 10.3 million followers and over 1 billion views on TikTok.