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Summer Walker left many fans feeling bamboozled at a recent Atlanta show after she shut down requests to sing a perform certain singles from her sophomore effort, Still Over It. “I cannot sing that song but I just wanna talk to y’all for a second,” she told those in attendance at the Coca-Cola Roxy. Walker said they might as well forget about hearing songs like “Throw It Away, “Reciprocate,” and “Session 33” from her right now.
“I want y’all to know that this s**t is real,” the 25-year-old songstress continued. “I write a lot of my stuff. I write most of my stuff and it’s still a fresh wound. My baby, she not even 1 [year old] yet and I ain’t got time to be up here singing that s**t, crying in front of y’all. So, I sang what I could and I hope that y’all still enjoy the show.”
Some attendees seemed to be okay with Walker’s explanation, as could be determined by a few cheers from the crowd. And she did have SZA come out later in the evening so they could deliver their popular collab track “No Love.”
However, plenty more voiced their frustration with Walker’s selectivity for songs. “I really tried to give a lil grace to her bc I understand anxiety,” wrote one fan. “But she really bout the laziest artist I’ve ever seen. She always got excuses.”
Someone else hailed the R&B greats and hinted that artists like Walker are entitled. “Aretha, Gladys, Pattie, Diana, Tina, Sade, Mariah, Janet, Whitney, Anita, Mary J, Bey…would NEVER!!!! Nowadays, some of these young talents really act like WE need THEM & they’re doing us a favor,” they tweeted.
Walker did respond to her detractors yesterday via an IG post, though. She also was sure to plug her new mental wellness app, Mindset. “For those struggling with social anxiety or feeling out of place, I just want to say that I hear you. I’ve experienced so much hate and scrutiny for my anxiety, and I hope that talking about my experiences through my Mindset series makes you feel less alone,” she said in the clip.
In the past, Walker has been questioned about the genuineness of her social anxiety. Three years ago, she cited her mental health struggles as the reason why she cut her touring schedule short, rescheduled some dates, and cancelled others. Later in 2019, Walker appeared flustered and nervous when accepting a Soul Train award.
She went at her detractors in a now-deleted IG post, saying she’s been fighting these issues since she was 6 years old. “I don’t have the right to act like this b/c I’m famous, “b*** you slow” or just flat out making fun of me for being vulnerable,” she wrote. “HAVE CHILDREN, these women have children. It makes me feel soo bad cause it’s clear that if the children are developing or struggling with any type of mental disorder such as anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, it’ll be brushed to the side and will never receive any treatment because it’ll just be “an act.”
