Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber Fire Back at 6ix9ine’s Rigged Charts Claim

The duo didn’t hold back as “Stuck With U” topped the Billboard 100 chart.

Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber responded to rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine’s allegations that the singers rigged the Billboard Hot 100 chart after their duet, “Stuck With U,” took the No. 1 spot.

6ix9ine posted a video of himself on Instagram saying, “You can buy No. 1s on Billboard.” He pointed out that Grande and Bieber submitted 60,000 units for their single “last minute” on May 14 and claimed that, according to his research, the duo purchased 30,000 of those units by using “six credit cards.”

Bieber responded to the rapper’s conspiracy on his Instagram story, saying “60,000 units came at the end because we don’t disclose our numbers until the end of the week.” As for teaching 6ix9ine precisely how music charts work, the singer added, “The rules are clear one credit card can buy max four copies. Anything over that, the entire amount gets thrown out.”

Ariana Grande also took to Instagram to not only thank her and Bieber’s fans for their support of the new hit but to also shut down 6ix9ine’s claims. In the post, Grande stressed that the fans were the real reason for the jump in units, also reiterating Bieber’s explanation of how charts are determined. “Our fans bought this song (never more than four copies each, AS THE RULES STATE). They are ride or die motherf*ckers and I thank god every day that I have them in my life.”

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thank u to everybody who supported this song, this cause and made this happen. we love uuuuu so much. ? there’s so much to celebrate today. ? however, i would like to say a few things. anyone who knows me or has followed me for a while knows that numbers aren’t the driving force in anything i do. i’m grateful to sing. grateful to have people who want to listen. grateful to even be here at all. i didn’t have a number one for the first five years of my career and it didn’t upset me at all because from the bottom of my heart, music is everything to me. my fans are everything to me. i promise i couldn’t ask for another fucking thing. so with this celebration today, i would like to address a few things which i don’t usually do (i don’t give my energy to drama or strange accusations normally but this has gone a little too far)…my fans bought the song. JUSTIN’S fans bought the song. OUR fans bought this song (never more than four copies each, AS THE RULES STATE). they are ride or die motherfuckers and i thank god every day that i have them in my life. not just when they fight for us to win (even when i ask them not to as i did this week) but because they’re some of the greatest people i know. sales count for more than streams. u can not discredit this as hard as u try. to anybody that is displeased with their placement on the chart this week or who is spending their time racking their brain thinking of as many ways as they can to discredit hardworking women (and only the women for some reason…..), i ask u to take a moment to humble yourself. be grateful you’re even here. that people want to listen to u at all. it’s a blessed position to be in. i’ve had a lot of “almost number ones” in my career and i never said a goddamn thing because I FEEL GRATEFUL TO EVEN BE HERE. TO WANT TO BE HEARD AT ALL …. and you should feel that way too. congratulations to all my talented ass peers in the top ten this week. even number 3. ? and thank u to @billboard for this honor. and thank u to everybody who helped us raise a lot of money for a very important cause this week. love u all a lot.

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The singer continues by subtweeting the rapper for attempting to bring down the duo’s hard work. “To anybody that is displeased with their placement on the chart this week or who is spending their time racking their brain thinking of as many ways as they can to discredit hard-working women (and only the women for some reason…..), I ask u to take a moment to humble yourself,” she wrote. “Be grateful you’re even here. That people want to listen to u at all.”

The conspiracy comes after 6ix9ine’s new post-prison single, “Gooba,” received the No. 3 spot on the Hot 100 chart. In the video, the rapper can be seen scrolling through unidentified forecast figures as part of his research proving that the numbers were manipulated, which Billboard said were not provided by them. “Billboard does not distribute any Hot 100 ranking forecast to labels, management or artists,” the publication wrote in an article.

You can watch 6ix9ine’s accusation video below:

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