Artiste, DJ go back and forth in heated exchange over Spice headlining Toronto Pride 2022

Dancehall queen Spice has waded into the fiery debate over her headlining the 2022 Toronto Pride event in Canada, slamming detractors for being ‘selective’ in their so-called stance to uphold Jamaican morals and values. 

Spice, responding directly to dancehall selector Foota Hype on Friday (November 19), initially went on Instagram Live to urge the disc jock to delete his most recent post. 

“Mi ‘ave a very important announcement fi mek. Tell Foota [Hype] mi a gi him 24 hour. Somebody call Foota pon him phone and seh ‘Foota, Spice seh she a give yuh 24 hour fi jus delete the post’. Betta him just delete it altogether and finish up wid it and nuh bada seh nutn more,” Spice began.

The post in question, made by the 39-year-old Oneil Thomas, alleged that Spice refuses to ‘do the right thing’ and return the money she would be paid to perform in Toronto. 

Foota Hype pleaded with Spice not to “destroy dancehall morality” to please her insecurities about not getting the respect and glory she deserves from the international market. 

According to him, it’s “not too late to cancel the show” and save her integrity, insisting she does “the right thing”.

“Don’t try the wrong and strong thing @spiceofficial gi dem back di money find excuse u nuh bruck, mi know it hurt say the international market nah gi u di respect and glory weh u deserve tru u nuh look spanish or close to white like @shenseea dem and dem still nah go gi u don’t lose uself trying to win that battle do don’t destroy dancehall morality to please ur insecurities and ur ego its not too late to cancel the show and save ur integrity and ur career I love u but u [expletive deleted] up this time do the right thing,” Foota Hype wrote.

Just after seeing her comments, Foota jeered Spice’s demand for a retraction, saying in a follow-up Instagram post that the 24 hours deadline was too long and she should “spill the tea” now.

Well, a scalding serving of tea was indeed delivered as Spice, while purporting she was rather busy, aired out what she considered Thomas’ contradictions for the whole world to see. 

Quipping that she was not perturbed by Shenseea or any perception of her ‘lacking’ white or Eurocentric looks, Spice admitted she was quite perplexed by Foota Hype’s ‘hypocrisy’.

The ‘morality crusade’ by the disc jock is particularly confusing, according to Spice, given what she said was his affinity for PRIDE-related gigs over the years and made even worse considering some of the colleagues he has chosen to align himself with.

“Soon remove this Caption but I don’t discriminate!! I love all my fans no matter what race or their sexual preference, it’s not my decision to make. So you’re upset because I’m performing at a PRIDE event when you’ve been working for different PRIDE organisers all your life?” she began.

“Well, I’m very sorry but my music does not stop at your big stinking foot. I never told you I wanted to be white or Spanish looking I’m extremely happy just the rich way I am, so stop the madness. You knowingly have lesbian and gay friends, that you and I both know, so I’m confused at this hypocrisy,” Spice argued further.

From Spice’s vantage point, it seems that Foota Hype and those who think like him were more than okay with homoerotic media when it involved women but on the announcement of her performing for the entire Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LBGTQ+) community, suddenly, “values” is waved around.

“The amount of your male artist friend[s] that you have that have girls kissing girls in music videos and singing about 3-sums, it wasn’t homosexuality then or ruining the culture? Or is it only homosexuality when it’s not pleasing you? All I want is for you to just make everything make sense or is it only when a “SPICE”, unu have a problem,” the Go Dung Deh deejay said.

Dropping her own claim on Foota, Spice added, “Well hear what? Long story short, a homosexual interviewed you at the USA embassy and give you work visa so that you can come America come work and make ‘MONEY’,” Spice added.

The Frenz diva, ending the exchange, made Foota a daring proposition that if he graciously returns his US visa she would cancel her performance. 

“RUN BACK THE VISA AND THE GREEN CARD AND I RUN BACK THE MONEY. Mi done chat to you, mi well busy sorry. TORONTO CANADA I’ll see you soon,” she said.

Spice did not levy any response to fellow dancehall artiste Sizzla Kalonji, however, who also decried her upcoming Toronto Pride performance. 

Sizzla, a Rastafarian against pro-gay relationships, further slammed female acts Lila Iké and Jada Kingdom for coming out as lesbians days apart.