"She's the reason why it was successful"- Internet calls out Pitbull as rapper addresses removal of Kesha's name from 'Timber'

Internet users have taken to X (formerly Twitter) to put Pitbull and his team on blast after Kesha’s name was removed from the YouTube title of their 2013 music video, Timber. The reason behind the same is not known yet.

On August 18, 2024, Kesha’s name mysteriously vanished from the title of the hit track. If one looks at the thumbnail of the song on YouTube, one would be greeted with a video still of Mr. Worldwide. Prior to it, fans could see Kesha storming through doors in the thumbnail.

The description of the YouTube video included mentions of the Tik Tok singer alongside social media links that were directed to Pitbull’s pages. It also included the lyrics that were sung by Kesha in the song:

“It’s goin’ down, I’m yellin’ timber/ You better move, you better dance/ Let’s make a night you won’t remember/ I’ll be the one you won’t forget”

As the change in the YouTube music video title garnered attention, many speculated that Pitbull allegedly removed Kesha’s name from the YouTube title. Some reactions read:

Netizen reacts to Kesha’s name being removed from the YouTube music video title (Image via X)

“Removing Kesha’s name from the Timber music video is nasty work. Especially when she’s the main reason the song is popular & when she still hasn’t been paid the million’s she’s owed in royalties.. Pitbull’s team needs to fix this,” one netizen said.

“God that’s horrendous, I’ve never seen and artist be REMOVED from a song they’re featured on,” another X user said.

Kesha had not publicly responded to the matter at the time of writing this article. Meanwhile, other reactions read:

“Nobody would even give a f**k about the song if she wasn’t in it who does he think he is,” a platform user commented.

“Kesha is the only reason that song is good, it makes no sense to take her off the credits when she clearly is a part of it. I hope she is able to sue over this, idk how it all works but these seems very illegal, unethical and shady af,” an X user said.

“I ONLY know this song as a Kesha song, and never know his parts. What a shame. He always talks about for kids and women, if I recall correctly…,” another netizen stated.

Evidently, many were displeased with Pitbull and his team and opined that the song gained popularity due to Kesha’s vocals. Meanwhile, others came to his defense.

“Someone’s mad lol,” another X user said.

“Same situation happened with ‘Taki Taki’ they removed Selena’s name. I think it’s just a glitch,” one person commented.

“I don’t know why anyone even doubted Pitbull. He doesn’t like anyyyy drama surrounding his brand. Love, light and booty rocking,” one netizen stated.

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What did Pitbull say? Singer responds to Kesha’s name being removed from Timber’s YouTube video title

On August 19, 2024, the singer took to X to address the controversy. While sharing a clip of the song, he wrote in the tweet:

“@KeshaRose 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!”

Timber was released on October 7, 2013, with the YouTube music video currently holding over a billion views. The song is part of Pitbull’s Meltdown album.

Rapper had also revealed in the past that Rihanna was originally meant to feature on the song. However, she could not as she was appearing on Shakira’s Cant Remember to Forget You song, leaving her with very little time to record Timber.