The disparity between male and female artists on country radio became even more obvious during the back half of this decade, with one study finding that male artists accounted for 5.5 to 1 in total airplay during the years 2000–2018. In 2018, that number only increased, with a ratio of male vs. female at 9.7 to 1. In 2015, radio consultant Keith Hill made controversial comments about why women received less representation on the radio, referring to male artists as the "salad" and women as "tomatos"; the controversy became known as Tomato-gate.