In May 2018, it was announced that Lamar was planning a departure from Spotify.[224] It came after he heard the streaming platform intended to ban late fellow American rapper XXXTentacion from their editorial and algorithmic playlists for his publicized acts of violence against women.[224] The removal of XXXTentacion as well as R. Kelly arrived in accordance to Spotify's new Hate Content & Hateful Conduct policy.[225] Conceived in light of the #MeToo movement, the removal policy sought to promote "openness, diversity, tolerance and respect" by removing content that promotes, advocates, or incites hatred and violence against an individual or group based on characteristics.[226][227] According to The Guardian, a representative for Kendrick Lamar personally contacted Spotify CEO Daniel Ek to air his frustrations with the policy, claiming it was censorship.[224][228] Bloomberg reported that the representative reached out to Ek and head of artist relations Troy Carter, threatening to pull his music if the company kept the policy as it stood. Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith, CEO of Top Dawg Entertainment, confirmed he threatened to remove music from the service in an interview with Billboard.[229][230] Kendrick had been a fan of XXXTentacion's music. He tweeted a link to his debut album 17 accompanied by praise for the controversial rapper's "raw thoughts."[231] Lamar stated, "Listen to this album if you want to feel anything."[228] In response to the criticism, Spotify reversed their policy and reinstated XXXTentacion's music back onto playlists after other artists followed suit in threatening to pull their musical works.[228]