Warner Have Now Denied That Stormzy Forced Atlantic Records Boss Ben Cook To Quit, After He Wore A Blackface Costume

It has now been denied that Stormzy threatened to quit his label after pictures emerged of a record exec using blackface. The Sun reports that the rapper was furious, after Warner bosses failed to take action when photos of Atlantic Records chief Ben Cook dressed as member of US rap group Run DMC (for a birthday party in 2012) emerged last year. Cook - responsible for launchingEd Sheeran’s career - quit the company yesterday.

'That’s simply not true,' a Warner spokesperson toldMBW. 'No artists were involved in our decision-making.'

According to the tabloid, the musician reportedly banned Cook from standing near the stage at his headline Glastonbury performance{ =nofollow}, and is believed to have told top bosses at Warner (the label which owns Atlantic) that he would leave if Cook was not fired.

‘When Stormzy found out what had gone on, and that he had been allowed to stay, he was furious,’ a source told the paper. ‘He stepped in and made it clear he would not be prepared to keep working with them if Ben stayed, and also that he might go public with the details of why. He clearly saw this as a major issue and felt he had a responsibility to use his influence to highlight it — and to ensure incidents like this are taken seriously. He absolutely believes this was the right thing to do.’

In a statement yesterday Cook said, ‘Seven years ago, at a birthday party where guests were asked to come dressed as their favourite musical icon, I came as a member of Run-DMC. Late last year rumours began to circulate about my appearance at that event, many of which are simply untrue. While my intention was to honour a musical hero, I recognise my appearance was offensive and I made a terrible mistake. I am devastated this mistake has caused upset and has called into question my commitment to diversity, equality and inclusion.'

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