Pitbull has re-credited Kesha on their collaborative song ‘Timber’, following backlash for her name being removed over the weekend.
Over the weekend (August 18), fans took to social media after noticing that the music video for the 2013 song had been updated to remove her credits from the title. It had also received a new thumbnail that only features Pitbull.
Since the discovery came to light, fans called out Pitbull for the update, with some calling it “nasty work”, especially when the track is best known for its catchy chorus, sung by Kesha. Fans have also cited the “millions” that Kesha hasn’t been paid in royalties for performing on the hit song. Some also noted that they had considered the song to be Kesha’s, instead of her being a featured guest.
Following the backlash, Pitbull spoke out about the update on X/Twitter, confirming that he admires the singer and was looking into the update. “[Kesha] and I have an incredible song together. Nothing will change this. Team Pitbull is looking into this matter. Always nothing but love for Kesha, Dale!”
Now, Kesha’s name has reappeared in the ‘Timber’ credits, and the song is now listed as ‘Pitbull, Ke$ha – Timber (featuring Ke$ha – Official Video)’.
A reason behind the singer’s name being removed from the track’s music video, over a decade since it was first released, was never shared. However, some fans and outlets have speculated that it may have been related to her legal battle with producer Dr Luke.
None of that has been confirmed or addressed though and, at time of writing, it still remains unknown why the video was initially amended.
In other Pitbull-related news, the singer’s song ‘I Feel Good’ has been at the centre of an infringement lawsuit by a company named All Surface Publishing.
The singer’s label, Mr. 305 Inc., was sued in a suit which saw the publishing company allege that Pitbull’s 2021 hit ‘I Feel Good’ infringed the copyright to Debonair Samir’s 2006 song ‘Samir’s Theme’, claiming that it featured “significant similarities.”
The lawsuit came a few days after the ‘Hotel Room Service’ singer purchased the naming rights for the Florida International University Stadium, and renamed the venue as the Pitbull Stadium.
As for Kesha, earlier this month the singer celebrated her debut single ‘TiK ToK’ crossing a billion streams on Spotify by brushing her teeth with a bottle of Jack Daniels. She has also revealed that she wants to re-record the song when she has the “legal rights” to.
