Rapper Tessa has decided to cancel two concerts where she was scheduled to perform with The Antonelli Orchestra following recent revelations in a DR documentary about sexism in the music industry. Tessa stated to 365nyt.dk that she does not wish to be associated with a band member who allegedly made inappropriate comments. She emphasizes that the rest of the band likely contributed to enabling this culture by ignoring the behavior. One of the canceled concerts was supposed to take place in the Faroe Islands in June, while the other was planned for December at the Clarion Hotel.
The documentary “Sexism in the Music Industry” from DR has highlighted several female musicians’ experiences with offensive behavior. The identities of the individuals mentioned in the documentary are anonymized. Specifically, the second part focuses on experiences from singers Katinka Bjerregaard, Mathilde Falch, and Stine Bramsen during their participation in the TV show “Toppen af Poppen” (translated: “The Top of the Pops”). The three singers share incidents of inappropriate comments from a member of the show’s band, The Antonelli Orchestra. The band member, anonymized in the documentary, stated that he does not recognize certain elements in the stories but acknowledges that it is irrelevant if someone has felt offended. He has therefore issued an unconditional apology to the artists who have experienced verbal boundary crossing from his side.
The production company Mastiff, behind “Toppen af Poppen,” stated in the documentary that they initiated an investigation into the incidents, which led to a correction of an “inappropriate culture.” However, TV 2, which aired the program, believes that Mastiff’s handling of the situation has been inadequate in light of the new information from the DR documentary. 365nyt.dk has attempted to obtain a comment from the mentioned band member following Tessa’s statement, but has not yet received a response.