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Israeli grassroots Zionist organization Im Tirtzu posted a controversial deepfake video on Tuesday that depicted a stream of AI-generated Jewish artists including Drake, Lenny Kravitz, Maroon 5’s Adam Levine, Simon & Garfunkel, Jack Black, Jake Gyllenhaal, Mila Kunis, Adam Sandler and more wearing T-shirts featuring a hand with a Jewish star in it throwing up the middle finger with the word “Kanye” underneath.
The short video featuring the message “enough is enough” and “Join the fight Against Antisemitism” appeared to be a reaction to the disgraced rapper Ye’s recent four-day spree of offensive posts on X in which he repeatedly used antisemitic, homophobic, sexist and ableist slurs while once again declaring “I’m a Nazi” and “I love Hitler.”
The T-shirt also seemed like a rejoinder to an antisemitic shirt Ye sold on his website — promoted in a bizarre ad that aired in a few markets during Sunday’s Super Bowl LIX — that featured a Nazi swastika and the code “HH-01,” code for “Heil Hitler.” The Yeezy website was taken down by Shopify on Tuesday following backlash about the shirt that the company said violated its terms.
The deepfake video, cued to an instrumental, electronic version of the traditional celebratory Jewish folk song “Hava Nagila,” also features doctored images of Scarlett Johansson, Steven Spielberg, Woody Allen, Mark Zuckerberg, Sacha Baron Cohen, Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow and others modeling the shirt. Johansson was the first A-lister to respond to the unapproved response video, urging U.S. legislators to put limits on AI, denouncing the project to People in a statement over the “misuse of A.I., no matter what its messaging.”
She added, “It has been brought to my attention by family members and friends, that an A.I.-generated video featuring my likeness, in response to an antisemitic view, has been circulating online and gaining traction. I am a Jewish woman who has no tolerance for antisemitism or hate speech of any kind. But I also firmly believe that the potential for hate speech multiplied by A.I. is a far greater threat than any one person who takes accountability for it. We must call out the misuse of A.I., no matter its messaging, or we risk losing a hold on reality.”
Johansson — who threatened legal action in November 2023 when a company used her A.I. likeness in an ad without permission and was again disturbed when a voice that sounded like hers was used as the official voice of OpenA.I.’s ChatGPT — did not name West in her statement, which concluded, “I urge the U.S. government to make the passing of legislation limiting A.I. use a top priority; it is a bipartisan issue that enormously affects the immediate future of humanity at large.”
Before the AI video surfaced, the Anti-Defamation League lambasted Ye’s swastika shirt, noting that it was further proof of the rapper’s antisemitism and that “the swastika is the symbol adopted by Hitler as the primary emblem of the Nazis. It galvanized his followers in the 20th century and continues to threaten and instill fear in those targeted by antisemitism and white supremacy… There’s no excuse for this kind of behavior. Even worse, Kanye advertised his website during the Super Bowl, amplifying it beyond his already massive social media audience.”
Before Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) seemingly deleted his X account on Monday, former Friends star David Schwimmer implored X owner Elon Musk to ban the hate-spewing rapper from the platform. In addition, Charlie Puth begged Ye to stop promoting “incredibly dangerous” messages and singer/DJ Matthew Koma offered his own pointed response to Ye’s promotion of hateful ideology on Tuesday, posting an image of a “F–k Ye” shirt he’s selling. “Hey I can make a shirt too – link in bio , all proceeds to the blue card holocaust survivor charity,” Koma wrote.
In addition, the Israeli-American Council (AIC) announced a “Hate Is Out of Fashion” campaign on Wednesday (Feb. 12) featuring a Star of David T-shirt to “foster Jewish pride, strength and unity.” The group said the shirt was a response to West’s swastika merch. “Whenever and wherever antisemitism rears its ugly head, it poses a threat not only to Jews but to our entire society and its most basic values,” said IAC CEO Elan Carr. “We American Jews and Israeli-Americans stand on the front lines against the world’s oldest hatred. In response to Kanye West’s despicable attempt to capitalize on his hatred, our creative campaign mirrors his twisted fashion but instead promotes a positive message of pride, philosemitism, and American values.”
Marlon Wayans is not tolerating Soulja Boy after the rapper’s homophobic comments. The Scary Movie actor and the musician have been feuding online ever since Wayans called out Soulja Boy for performing at the Crypto Ball in Washington, D.C. in celebration of Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration. The back-and-forth came to a head when Soulja began poking […]
Country singer-songwriter Lainey Wilson and her boyfriend Devlin “Duck” Hodges are engaged. On Feb. 12, Wilson and Hodges both shared a carousel of photos on Instagram, with Wilson showing off her engagement ring. They captioned the photos “4x4xU forever,” a nod to both their relationship and Wilson’s current top five Billboard Country Airplay hit “4x4xU.” […]
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Source: YouTube / Club Shay Shay
Gillie Da Kid was a guest on Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay, and it delivered confirmation to a wild Internet rumor. According to Gillie, the cops told him that a recently murdered high school basketball star was also the person who shot and killed his son, YNG Cheese, in July 2023.
YNG Cheese was the victim of a drive-by shooting on a night that saw three homicides in Philly.
During Gillie’s visit to Club Shay Shay, after celebrating the win of the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl, Shannon Sharpe asked him about the death of Noah Scurry, a 17-year-old high school basketball star who was shot and killed in early January.
“That’s who killed my son,” said Gillie matter of factly.
After some fleeting moments of awkward silence, Gillie revealed that his son was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He also noted that Curry had been rapping online in a Joker mask. As TMZ and various other outlets report, Scurry was killed the day after he dropped a drill rap video (with multiple guns being waved freely) where he is seen performing in a Joker mask as JokerOTV.
“These kids don’t know no better,” added Gillie. “These kids think, you can’t make it as a rapper unless you kill somebody. Unless you did something out in these streets. This is the mindset.”
Per Gillie, after his untimely death, the police told him Scurry was one of the people they were prepping to arrest in connection to his son’s murder.
Watch the full Club Shay Shay interview below.
Music often intertwines with sports, as we’ve seen in Super Bowl halftime shows, pre-game performances, star-studded attendances and more. However, some musicians take their love for a sport a step further by buying a percentage of ownership of their favorite teams. Most recently, Tems joined the San Diego Football Club’s ownership group as a club partner […]
Country singer-songwriter Rory Feek’s daughter Hopie recently shared an update about their family, sharing in a video on Instagram that the results of a 23andMe DNA test revealed that Feek — who raised Hopie and her sister Heidi — is not Hopie’s biological father.
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“I’ve always felt a little bit different — and now I know why,” Hopie, 36, said in the video. “I took a 23andMe test and I got the results I never knew I needed,” she added, showing a photo of herself with a man she had recently met. “Turns out this is my dad — not the one everyone knows — and his name is B.C.” Hopie noted that upon meeting B.C., he “immediately loved me and was so excited to call me his daughter.” Hopie expressed gratefulness for “the new people who I have in my life and the new family who love me for who I am.”
Feek raised Hopie and her sister Heidi as a single parent following his split with their mother, Tamara Gilmer. Feek went on to marry Joey Martin in 2002; together, they also formed the musical duo Joey + Rory, competing on the CMT musical competition Can You Duet?, and earning Billboard Hot Country Songs entries including “Cheater, Cheater.” Joey and Rory welcomed daughter Indiana in 2014. Joey died in 2016 at age 40, following a battle with cancer.
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A few days after Hopie revealed the familial news in the Instagram video, on Feb. 11 Feek shared his own thoughts about the revelation in a blog post titled “A Different Dad,” published on his website. Feek noted that Hopie revealed the news to him in a meeting near where Joey is buried.
“I’m not sure what I thought Hopie was going to say, but I was not expecting to hear that,” he said in his post. “I just listened. Not quite sure that this was really happening–processing it the best I could.”
Feek also noted that the news did not completely surprise him, recalling a period of time just after Hopie’s birth, when he suspected that Hopie was not his. In his blog post, Feek wrote about recalling that the doctor had told him Hopie was born several weeks past her due date, which Feek had thought did not align with the timeline of when he had returned home from a six-month military deployment. In his blog post, Feek had also noted that at one point during his split from his ex-wife, he had asked her directly if Hopie was his child, and says that he’d been assured that Hopie was his.
“I told Hopie that I guess a part of me knew. But more than that, I told her I didn’t care. That this news and this blood test doesn’t change anything for me. ‘I love you as my daughter and I always will,’” he wrote. He also shared the “hurt” he has for Hopie, writing, “Hopie has such a tender heart, filled with child-like wonder and light, even in the darkest of days. It’s heartbreaking that she has had to deal with such an incredible amount of pain and loss in her relatively short life.”
That same day, Hopie wrote a response message on Instagram, expressing frustration and disappointment with Feek’s comments. “When I had the conversation with Rory, my one request was for him to be kind and not shame my mom. Today, he shared her private history in his blog, which is extremely disappointing. I shared my story because I couldn’t keep it all to myself anymore. I’m really not a public person, but because Rory is, my private life becomes content for his fans (who are often unkind online).”
Hopie also expressed displeasure and regret in having previously shared with Rory about her sexuality, noting that she felt Feek had used that information in order to sell books, such as his 2018 book Once Upon a Farm.
“From now on, I just wish my stories could be my own to tell and share,” Hopie wrote on Instagram. “I want to move forward and find happiness with the people who love me, far away from this online hate.”
About four months ago, Billy Idol was in Cleveland to sing “No More Tears” as part of Ozzy Osbourne’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction.
Asked backstage about Osbourne’s comment that Idol himself should be inducted, he noted that, “It was really lovely of him to say so. It would be really incredible.”
Now it may indeed be Idol’s turn.
The man born William Broad in England, made famous as part of Generation X and then a solo career that’s notched hits such as “White Wedding,” “Rebel Yell,” “Eyes Without a Face” and “Dancing With Myself,” is one of eight first-timers out of 14 nominees on this year’s Rock Hall ballot, which was announced Wednesday morning (Feb. 12). Public voting is underway at vote.rockhall.com, and the inductees are expected to be announced during late April, with the ceremony held this fall in Los Angeles.
“It’s pretty incredible,” Idol told Billboard via phone from Los Angeles. “I’m really knocked out. It’s really fantastic, and what a great honor just to be included with those other fellow artists on that list. It caught me by surprise today, and I was completely bowled over.”
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Idol has been eligible since 2006 as a solo artist, but he said he’s never thought of himself as slighted or overlooked. “Well, there’s so many great people who have yet to be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame — someone like [fellow nominee] Joe Cocker, for instance,” he noted. “So of course you don’t tend to think about yourself.
“I think in some ways it’s a big thank-you to the fans, who really have stuck with you through thick and thin — sometimes more thin than thick. But they’ve really stuck with you. In some ways, if you’re in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, they are [too].”
Idol began his career as a guitar player in the punk band Chelsea before forming Generation X with guitarist Tony James in 1976. The group released four albums and had British hits with “Your Generation,” “King Rocker” and “Valley of the Dolls” before breaking up in early 1981. Idol then moved to New York, working with former Kiss manager Bill Aucoin. His first EP, Don’t Stop, featured a remake of Generation X’s “Dancing With Myself” and a cover of Tommy James and the Shondells’ “Mony Mony,” but his self-titled 1982 debut was the real breakthrough, going gold on the strength of “White Wedding” and “Hot in the City,” and a warm embrace from MTV.
That helped make Rebel Yell even bigger in 1983, a double-platinum, top 10 Billboard 200 smash that turned Idol into an arena-sized headliner.
“It’s just kind of incredible ’cause you never could have imagined this when you began,” said Idol, who’s released eight studio albums total and has another coming this year, with details expected to be announced soon. “When we started out in punk rock, we really were doing it for the love. We thought this might last six minutes, six months, maybe a year, maybe two years. We’re nearly talking about 50 years now.
“Look, if you do something for the right reasons, it can take you the whole way. Just to have lived this life, to have this musical life, at one point it was a dream. To get to live your dream, that’s pretty incredible.”
Idol has been in the Rock Hall already via one of his Harley-Davidson motorcycles, which is on display in the museum in Cleveland. He visited during October’s induction festivities and reports that “it’s beautiful seeing it there. They’ve done a good job of taking care of it.”
The Osbourne induction, Idol adds, was “really good fun. Playing with [producer] Andrew Watt and Wolfgang Van Halen and everybody, it was an incredible night. The vibe amongst everybody was fantastic, and to feel the sort of energy and excitement of the fans being there. Just getting to thank the fans is an incredible moment.”
While the Rock Hall voting is going on, Idol will be rolling out the new album and prepping for the It’s A Nice Day To…Tour Again! trek that kicks off April 30 in Phoenix and runs through late September. Idol will be joined by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, reconnecting with someone he met during a Generation X press tour back in 1978.
“We ended up in L.A., watching the Germs and Black Flag at the Whisky a Go Go with Joan and about 20 other girls [in] go-go boots and short mini-skirts,” Idol recalls. “It was great meeting her. It should be a really fantastic [tour], a good time.”
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Source: Julia Beverly / Getty
This year’s NBA All-Star Game is about to get extra hyphy with a Bay Area musical tribute at Chase Center in San Francisco, home of the Golden State Warriors. On Sunday, February 16, at 8 p.m. ET, DJ Cassidy is bringing his legendary Pass The Mic Live! show to the stage, and he’s bringing out some of the biggest names from the West Coast.
E-40 and Too $hort will be on deck to drop their classic hits, while Saweetie—representing the new wave of Bay Area talent—will also hit the stage. It’s only right that they’re honoring the Bay’s hip-hop legacy, and these legends are the perfect choice. To keep the energy high, comedian Kevin Hart will be the on-court emcee, keeping the crowd hyped throughout the night.
With the All-Star Game in the Bay, it’s a no-brainer to bring out these West Coast heavyweights. The performance is set to bring that rich Bay Area sound to the spotlight, celebrating everything from old-school to new-school. It’s about honoring the culture and showing love to a place that helped shape the music industry. Fans at Chase Center and watching from home are in for a night filled with straight bangers, good vibes, and some serious Bay Area pride.
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Source: Station Provided/Radio One / Hot 96.3
Lil Wayne may not have gotten to headline the Super Bowl Halftime Show in his hometown of New Orleans, but at least the man got a consolation prize by co-hosting a party with his mans and ‘em, Tyga somewhere out in Los Angeles. Something’s something, right?
Linking up with Tyga for their new visuals to “Pop It Off,” Lil Wayne and Kylie Jenner’s ex get things turnt up at an intimate house party with a gang of women before hitting the streets with some low riders in tow and some more women bouncing along with the hydraulic infused automobiles.
Back in Boston, Millyz continues to put on for his city and in his clip to “Send Me Up,” the Beantown bars smith styles with stacks of cash, blocks of ice and even gets his hydration from an IV to show y’all how big he’s living. Average people drink water when dehydrated but this man has it injected into his body like it ain’t no thang.
Check out the rest of today’s drops including work from Central Cee featuring Lil Durk, Hazard Blaq, and more.
TYGA & LIL WAYNE – “POP IT OFF”
MILLYZ – “SEND ME UP”
CENTRAL CEE FT. LIL DURK – “TRUTH IN THE LIES”
HAZARD BLAQ – “VIBE”
JUXX DIAMONDS – “GET OFF ME”
OSCHINO VASQUEZ – “LAME [NINJA]”
TINY BOOST – “4 DA FAM”
LIL MIGO – “EMBRACED IT”
Go tell them people that Westside Gunn is outside dumpin’ again. The Buffalo rapper and Griselda label boss just dropped off the lead single to his upcoming project 12 due out Valentine’s Day and it goes very hard. Produced by Griselda affiliate Rick Hyde’s teenage son Myles and directed by Daily Gems, “Outlander” finds Gunn […]