Anita Baker Explains Her Frequent Tardiness to the Stage, Claims Other Artists Wouldn’t Know Because ‘They’ve Never Sold Out an Arena’

Anita Baker engaged with fans on X about her often being late to the stage ahead of her latest performance in Los Angeles. Baker took the stage at the Crypto.com Arena on Dec. 22, but hours ahead of the show she did some explaining about her tardiness.

The 65-year-old “Sweet Love” singer responded to a fan who shared a poster of the “The Songstress” concert and said they were excited to attend the show. The individual recalled the time they sneaked into one of her shows as a teenager, and Baker replied, “Security!”

The fan’s post could be a reference to Baker’s behavior last week when she yelled, “Security, help them out, and I mean out of my front row” at her Houston concert.

Baker — who is often accused of being late when performing at her shows — shared the fan’s post while letting everyone know that she was “Prohibited” from taking the stage until 70 percent of the audience had arrived, per her contract.

“*Contractural Provisions, for SOLD OUT Arenas* Performer is *Prohibited* from taking the stage until 70% of the House is present,” she wrote. “We’re not late, just in Compliance with Contract. I Love Youuuu. See ya Soon.”

After one fan replied that there was a reason for everything, Baker replied, “they’ve never sold out an Arena… they dont have any point of reference.”

Baker also noted that it’d been raining for three days in Los Angeles. She told her fans to be safe and take their time arriving, she’d wait.

One person responded, “Hehe appreciated cuz I’m coming straight from work.” Another replied, “God bless you Auntie! Have an awesome show tonight!” Baker replied with ballon, sun and gift emojis.

Another X User replied, “Wow… very important information. Seems like the audience needs to be on time.”

Baker also asked fans if she should wear her natural hair or a wig due to the weather and shared a selfie. She captioned the post, “Natural hair + humidity?= WigZ.”

One fan replied, “Aye!!! Let’s go!!!we don’t care either way. We getting YOU!” Several others noted the bad weather and opted for the wig while others complimented Baker’s natural tresses.

Baker was nearly two hours late for a concert in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Nov. 18, and she also received flak after Babyface left the tour over the summer following lengthy show delays.

Her Los Angeles concert was scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. No one has commented on whether or not Baker was late to this performance. But many online mentioned that she put on an “exhilarating show.”