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Music

Detroit Club Populux Shuts Down After Criticism From Vic Mensa and Other Artists Over Racist Tweets

The club has reportedly launched an investigation with authorities over who hacked their account.
Vic Mensa. Photo from Wikimedia Commons

Detroit club Populux has shut down for the immediate future after public outcry against a series of racist tweets posted to its Twitter account. According to the Detroit News, an investigation has been launched into who posted the inflammatory tweets to the club's Twitter page. The club's Twitter and Facebook page are currently down.

Greg Bowens, a spokesperson for the Majestic Theatre complex where Populux is located, said that the club will be closed for at least a week and that they have filed complaints with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Wayne County internet crimes task force. "Folks are doing everything they can so nothing like this happens again in the future," Bowens told the Detroit News.

The now-deleted tweets were posted in response to Thursday night's shooting of police officers in Dallas and included an anti-Black Lives Matter hashtag and rhetoric blaming President Obama for the shooting. Artists including Vic Mensa, Hunter Siegel and Bixel Boys all pulled out of scheduled appearances at the club in response to the offending tweets and a call for fans and other artists to boycutt the venue began on Friday.

In a now-deleted statement on their Facebook page, the club wrote, "The tweets, political views and hate messaging that were posted to our Twitter account in the last 24 hours in no way represents our feelings, outlook, or political positions."