British rapper Slowthai has been dropped as an ambassador for Record Store Day following an incident at this year’s NME Awards.
Slowthai made headlines on Wednesday night after he approached the awards’ presenter Katherine Ryan during the ceremony and made suggestive comments towards her.
He was later removed from the stage after jumping down in the direction of an audience member who branded him a “misogynist” after he was awarded Hero Of The Year.
It’s now been announced that he will no longer be a part of this year’s Record Store Day event.
“The individual record shops who organise Record Store Day have spoken this morning and have unanimously agreed that Slowthai’s behaviour and statements do not reflect their values or those of Record Store Day,” they said in a statement, released to Metro.
“On that basis we have withdrawn our invitation for Slowthai to be this year’s Record Store Day ambassador and he will not be appearing at our 5 March event.”
The morning after the NME Awards, Slowthai issued a public apology for his behaviour, tweeting: “What started as a joke between us escalated to a point of shameful actions on my part. I want to unreservedly apologise, there is no excuse and I am sorry. I am not a hero. Katherine, you are a master at your craft and next time I’ll take my seat and leave the comedy to you.
“To any woman or man who saw a reflection of situations they’ve been in in those videos, I am sorry. I promise to do better. Let’s talk here.”
Katherine previously spoke out to insist that Slowthai hadn’t made her “feel uncomfortable” during the ceremony.
“This is why we need women in positions of power,” she tweeted. “I knew he had lost [the fight] from the moment he opened his mouth like any heckler coming up against a COMIC - not a woman - a COMIC. I was operating 2/10. What a sweet boy. I defused it. Tonight was fun!”
Slowthai released his debut album Nothing Great About Britain in 2019, featuring collaborations with Skepta, Mura Masa and the punk band Slaves.
Nothing Great About Britain went on to be nominated for the Mercury Prize, with Slowthai making headlines during the ceremony when he performed holding a dummy of Boris Johnson’s head.
“Fuck Boris Johnson, fuck everything and there ain’t nothing great about Britain,” he shouted during the performance.