T-Pain, Wisconsin State Fair Park dispute; alleged discrimination
The Brief
T-Pain blasted Wisconsin State Fair Park officials on social media.
The artists alleges they discriminated against his "Wiscansin State Fear" event.
In a statement, park officials pointed to "missteps in internal communications."
WEST ALLIS, Wis. - T-Pain blasted Wisconsin State Fair Park officials, alleging they discriminated against his "Wiscansin State Fear" event set for June.
What they're saying
In videos posted on social media, the music artist said he had already reached a deal with Wisconsin State Fair Park for the event – which would include car-drifting at the Milwaukee Mile.
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"They just said they don't like the name, and they felt like it was too similar to their name – Wisconsin State Fair, Wiscansin State Fear," he said in a video. "It's a 'Friday the 13th' theme."
T-Pain said when his team added carnival rides and karaoke to the event, park officials changed their tune despite having a contract.
"He said we can't have carnival rides, because if we have rides there, gangs are going to come," he said. "They're promoting rides and games, how come there are no gangs showing up to these things that you're promoting? Is it because you're doing it, and not Black T-Pain."
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The other side
In a statement, a spokesperson for Wisconsin State Fair Park said:
"We take responsibility and apologize for the way this was handled. There were missteps in internal communications that are not representative of the standard at Wisconsin State Fair Park. We were overly ambitious about what we could host and unfortunately, these missteps led to this event not coming to fruition. We are taking steps to ensure a more complete event review process is in place."
Dig deeper
T-Pain also said park officials were worried performers from his annual "Wiscansin Fest," scheduled for the following day, would attend "Wiscansin State Fear".
"The chief of police said they shut it down because he can't staff the event," he said.
Trying to find a solution, T-Pain said he promised to hire 100 licensed security guards. He said they declined his offer and instead approached his team about messaging if they opted to go in a different direction.
"I'm not getting with your marketing team to make sure ya'll don't look racist as (expletive). That's just what it is," he said.
What's next
T-Pain has announced his "Wiscansin State Fear" event will still happen; it has been moved to Road America in Elkhart Lake. A Road America spokesperson told FOX6 News they are still finalizing details.
The Source
FOX6 News reviewed T-Pain's social media posts and reached out to Wisconsin State Fair Park and Road America.
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