Chaka Khan says sexualised pop stars are “compensating for what they don’t have”
Chaka Khan has claimed that modern pop stars who use “their butts and stuff” on-stage are “compensating” for a lack of vocal talent.
Khan made the comments during a recent conversation with Jessie Ware and her mother, Lennie, on the hit podcast, Table Manners.
The topic of discussion turned to current pop stars when Ware mentioned comments made by Khan, Stephanie Mills and Patti LaBelle on The Breakfast Club about how the job description has changed in comparison to their era.
Ware summarised the interview, explaining, “You were all kind of commenting, when we go on stage, we just sing. We don’t need to do the bells and whistles. We don’t need to show our bodies.”
She then posited, “Do you think that the demands have changed on female performers now, or do you think it’s always been there, you just haven’t played the game?
In response, Khan disparagingly said of the current industry norms for female artists, without naming any names, “The game has changed. All bets are off; these women are doing any and every damn thing on stage and trying to sing, too.”
She continued, “The ones who are doing the most physicalities with their butts and stuff, and their body parts are the ones that usually are compensating for what they don’t have [..] I came to sing, and I came to really do a good job, and that’s hard work.”
Elsewhere, in the conversation, Khan made a similar remark when commenting about her elder statesperson role in the industry.
The disco queen shared, “I’m kind of like everybody’s grandma as well. You know, people tell me all the time, ‘I grew up listening to you. You know, my grandma used to play your songs. My mother used to play your songs.’ So I’m like a household name in a way, and that’s a beautiful thing. That’s a wonderful thing. I couldn’t see some other artists, you know, whose butts are out and everything on TikTok and everything they’re doing, rolling on stage etc.”
Khan then honestly added, “I just don’t understand that.”
The full podcast is available to watch below.
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