Why the Rolling Stones pulled 'Brown Sugar' from concerts after 50 years

The controversy around “Brown Sugar” started the moment it hit shelves in 1971. Written by Mick Jagger, the song openly references slavery, the rape of enslaved women, and drug use, with the title itself serving as a metaphor for a Black woman forced into sexual servitude. Critics then and now called it exploitative, but in 1971 it was still seen as a Stones-style rock’n’roll shocker—daring, not yet offensive.

By 2021, the band had stopped performing it. During the No Filter US tour, Jagger told The Los Angeles Times that the group had “been playing it for years, but we’ve now sort of decided not to play it.” He added, “We’ve got so many other songs we can do.” Keith Richards later said it was a response to shifting cultural sensibilities: people were no longer comfortable hearing the lyrics in a live setting. The retirement was quiet, not announced as a statement—just a fade from the setlist after half a century onstage.