Controversy

While the single became a commercial success, its initial announcement was met by controversy among some of Lil Peep's friends and fans, many of whom were upset regarding the inclusion of XXXTentacion.^[10] Leading up to his own death, XXXTentacion had accrued an alleged history of violence.^[5][6] Morever, at the time of the posthumous collaboration, XXXTentacion was facing multiple domestic abuse charges.^[6] This indicated to some that despite sharing similar musical tastes, his values ran counter to those lived by Lil Peep, though friends of Lil Peep said that he enjoyed XXXTentacion's music.^[11][12]

Lil Peep and XXXTentacion's attitudes towards each other while Lil Peep was alive have been described as murky.^[13] Fish Narc, a fellow member of GothBoiClique with Lil Peep, opposed XXXTentacion's inclusion on the song. In August 2018, Fish Narc posted a story onto Instagram in which he disavowed the collaboration. He stated, "[Lil Peep] explicitly rejected Triple X for his abuse of women, spent time and money getting Triple X's songs removed from his Spotify playlists, and wouldn't have co-signed that song. Don't listen to it." Fish Narc's claims of Lil Peep rejecting associations with XXXTentacion have not been substantiated.^[10] Likewise, one of Lil Peep's closest collaborators, Lil Tracy, said that the two artists were "never even friends [and] didn't even like each other.. RIP to both of them."^[10] On the contrary, rapper Fat Nick, a mutual friend of Lil Peep and XXXTentacion, said on Twitter that right before Lil Peep died, he and Lil Peep had a conversation about XXXTentacion and had planned to meet up with him, and that XXXTentacion was "super happy about it".^[14] Fat Nick also spoke about the matter on an Instagram livestream, where he dismissed the claims from Fish Narc and others about tension between XXXTentacion and Lil Peep, and confirmed that Lil Peep wanted to meet XXXTentacion once he was off tour. In the livestream, he also implied that members of GothBoiClique were responsible for Lil Peep's death, saying, "Some of y'all are siding with the people that took advantage of Peep. I don't get it... That's crazy. Y'all say shit about fucking X, but you're not saying shit about the people that killed [Lil Peep]... The people that gave him fentanyl. Y'all don't say shit to them."^[15] After this, Fish Narc faced criticism for his initial statement condemning the song. Fish Narc responded on Twitter, "I feel that people think I am trying to insult X. But really I wish him rest. I protest a posthumous collab between unaffiliated artists," and clarified that he did not wish to attack XXXTentacion and that his comments were, "how I interpreted what Peep told me as a friend."^[16][17] Following the release of the song, Fish Narc and Lil Tracy retracted their initial statements, with Fish Narc stating that his original stance was "what [he] said in anger".^[10]

During an interview with XXL, Makonnen defended his decision to include XXXTentacion, saying, "If Lil Peep was alive, and me and Peep are friends, and I guess I can speak for Lil Peep since it's our project together, I would say that we would be very open to talking with whoever and to making any sort of creative things happen."^[10] Makonnen mentioned the role that Lil Peep and XXXTentacion's mothers had in conception of the song. He said, "I definitely think it was like the mothers' wish. [XXXTentacion] had just been tragically taken away and Peep passed away as well. I think it's something both the mothers have in common. The mothers have the final say because these are their children at the end of the day."^[10] In August 2018, Lil Peep's mother, Liza Womack responded to a fan's concerns on Instagram, stating that releasing the song with XXXTentacion added onto to it was "Makonnen's choice" and not hers.^[10] However, she later relented after speaking with XXXTentacion's mother, Cleopatra Bernard.^[18] Womack also joined Bernard in receiving the Platinum plaques for "Falling Down" on Lil Peep and XXXTentacion's behalf.^[19] The rights to Lil Peep's unreleased music are owned by Columbia Records.^[10] One month following the release of "Falling Down," transcripts of XXXTentacion allegedly confessing to a some of his charges were revealed to the public.^[20][21] According to the Miami-Dade County State Attorney's office, the tape was considered a confession by both the prosecution and XXXTentacion's defense.^[22] In an interview with The Fader, when Makonnen was asked if his perception of "Falling Down" had been changed by the news, he demurred by saying, "I don't know anything about that."^[20]

Charts