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Source: Gilbert Carrasquillo / Getty / Terrence Howard
Terrence Howard isn’t open to playing gay roles in films.
Howard is an accomplished actor, but he will never live down fumbling the Marvel Studios bag, and he might have fumbled another one due to what many people on social media are describing as homophobia.
Terrence Howard revealed he almost took a role in the forthcoming biopic about the late legendary singer Marvin Gaye while speaking with Bill Maher on the comedian and Real Time host’s podcast, Club Random.
Howard told Maher that he believes he made the “biggest mistake” of his career, aside from fumbling the role of James Rhodes to Don Cheadle in the MCU, was passing up the starring role in the Smokey Robinson biopic.
But instead of taking on the role, he decided to entertain his longtime Empire collaborator Lee Daniels, revealing that he had a conversation with Daniels about playing Marvin Gaye in a different biopic.
Maher responded, saying that he believed that Howard made the right decision because Gaye’s life story was “much more interesting,” adding that he “would’ve been perfect as Marvin Gaye, and that is a story that needs to be told.”
Terrence Howard Passed On Marvin Gaye Role After Hearing Story About His Alleged Sexuality
Howard decided to go full Lucious Lyon and pass on the role because of a story he heard from the late Quincy Jones regarding Gaye’s alleged sexuality, and that he couldn’t kiss a man, saying he would cut his lips off.
Per Variety:
“I was over at Quincy Jones’ house and I’m asking Quincy, ‘I’m hearing rumors that Marvin was gay’ and I’m like, ‘Was he gay?’” Howard explained. “And Quincy’s like, ‘Yes.’”
After that revelation, Howard decided he “could not” star in the movie.
“They would’ve wanted to do that, and I wouldn’t have been able to do that,” he said of portraying a gay man in a movie.
Maher went on to ask, “You mean you couldn’t kiss a guy on screen in a movie?” Howard responded, “No. Because I don’t fake it.”
“That would fuck me,” Howard added. “I would cut my lips off. If I kissed some man, I would cut my lips off.”
Maher responded by saying he wouldn’t go that far, but understands why Howard felt the way he did about the role. Howard further explained, “It does not make me homophobic to not want to kiss a man.”
The actor says it was more of a matter of him committing to the role.
“I can’t play that character 100 percent,” Howard told Maher. “I can’t surrender myself to a place that I don’t understand.”
Social Media Isn’t Buying What Howard Is Selling
Maher might understand where Howard is coming from, but social media, on the other hand, is not feeling what the Best Man star said about passing the role.
“Learning that Terrance Howard is a woman abuser, is homophobic & supports trump all in the same sitting… oh my…. Hustle & flow was NO ACT!,” one user on X, formerly Twitter, wrote.
Another user added, “Terrence Howard is a man with a criminal record and history of beating women. You lost your “man card” a long time ago.”
Well damn.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
At 20 years old, Mexican music star Xavi became the youngest artist to receive the ASCAP Latin Music Award for songwriter of the year on Tuesday (April 29). Meanwhile, Colombian singer Feid won songwriter/artist of the year for the second consecutive year, while the hit “QLONA” by Karol G and Peso Pluma was named Latin song of the year.
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The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) celebrated El Premio ASCAP 2025, its top ASCAP Latin songwriters awards for the most performed Latin music songs of the past year.
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Xavi, known for his signature romantic tumbados and his unparalleled voice, has captivated a new generation of listeners with hits like “La Diabla” and “La Víctima.” The former topped Billboard‘s Hot Latin Songs chart for 14 weeks, while the latter reached No. 2. By the end of 2024, the Mexican-American singer-songwriter also became the first solo artist to hit No. 1 on the Regional Mexican Airplay chart with his first four songs in a single year, when “Flores” climbed from No. 3 to lead the ranking dated December 21.
Feid, whose Billboard Hot 100 hits include “Perro Negro” with Bad Bunny, “Revolu” with Rauw Alejandro, and “+57” with Karol G and other Colombian collaborators, boasts close to a dozen No. 1 hits on the Latin Airplay chart, including “Doblexxo” with J Balvin, “Si Sabe Ferxxo” with Blessd, and “Háblame Claro” with Yandel among his most recent.
“QLONA,” co-written by songwriter Dani Raw and published by Kobalt Music Publishing, won the ASCAP Award for Latin song of the year. Featured on Karol G’s album Mañana Será Bonito (Bichota Season), the track led Hot Latin Songs for five weeks and reached No. 28 on the all-genre Hot 100.
Among other winners, Universal Music Publishing Group was named publisher of the year for the third consecutive year, thanks to hits like “(Entre Paréntesis)” by Shakira and Grupo Frontera, “Adivino” by Bad Bunny and Myke Towers, “Alch Si” by Carín León and Grupo Frontera, “Gata Only” by Cris MJ and FloyyMenor, and “Igual Que Un Ángel” by Kali Uchis, to name a few.
Additionally, Daddy Yankee broke his own record by earning his 52nd Premio ASCAP as “Bonita” was recognized as one of the most-played songs of the past year.
El Premio ASCAP 2025 honored the songwriters and publishers of the most-performed songs of 2024 in Latin music. Winning songs were determined based on data for terrestrial and satellite radio, and for programmed and on-demand audio streams, all provided by Luminate Data LLC in accordance with ASCAP’s publicly available rules.
Check out a full list of winners on ASCAP’s website.
Don Toliver and Doja Cat are dropping their new collaboration “Lose My Mind” from the F1 movie soundtrack this week. The two are heard harmonizing on the hook “So why don’t we just lose my mind?” in the hi-tech video clip that was shared on Instagram by the Formula 1, F1 movie and F1 album […]
Los Ángeles Azules and Thalia unite for their first No. 1 on Billboard’s Regional Mexican Airplay chart, as “Yo Me Lo Busqué” flies 9-1 on the May 3-dated list.
“Yo Me Lo Busqué” ascends to the summit with the Greatest Gainer honors, awarded weekly to the song with the largest weekly gain in audience among the chart’s 40 songs. The song earned 6.4 million audience impressions, up 47%, in the U.S. in the week ending April 24, according to Luminate.
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“Yo Me Lo Busqué” was released January 18 via Promotodo. The Mexican label achieves its second No. 1 on the Regional Mexican Airplay chart, thanks to another collaboration featuring Los Ángeles Azules. Their previous hit, “Perdonarte Para Qué?” with Emilia, reached the top spot for one week in September 2024.
As “Yo Me Lo Busqué” takes over Regional Mexican Airplay, Thalia scores her first No. 1, besting her previous No. 5 high through “Tú y Yo” in July 2002.
With their latest chart-topper, Los Ángeles Azules secure their sixth No. 1 on Regional Mexican Airplay, among 17 career top 10 hits. The group’s breakthrough classic, “El Listón De Tu Pelo,” remains their longest-reigning No. 1, holding atop the list for seven weeks in 2000.
Here’s a look at their collection of No. 1 hits since the chart’s inception in 1994:
Title, Artist, Peak Date, Weeks at No. 1“El Listón De Tu Pelo,” Feb. 5, 2000, seven“Nunca Es Suficiente,” featuring Natalia Lafourcade, Jan. 26, 2019, three“Túi Y Tú,” with Cazzu & Santa Fe Klan, May 20, 2023, one“La Cumbia Triste,” with Alejandro Fernández, April 13, 2024, one“Perdonarte Para Que?” with Emilia, July 20, 2024, one“Yo Me Lo Busqué,” with Thalia, May 3
Notably, as “Yo Me Lo Busqué” also takes the lead on the Latin Pop Airplay chart –where it jumps 2-1 with a 39% increase in audience, to 7.2 million– Los Ángeles Azules and Thalia swap successes in new chart achievements. While Thalia scores her first-ever No. 1 on the Regional Mexican Airplay chart, Los Ángeles Azules claim the top spot on the Latin Pop Airplay chart, marking their first No. 1 there. It’s the third No. 1 for Thalia on Latin Pop Airplay, who in addition to her new airplay achievement, has also secured No. 1s on Tropical Airplay, twice, in 2000 and 2002.
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Getty Images / Elon Musk / Diablo IV
Elon Musk has once again been trolled for video gaming skills, or lack thereof.
Musk, who recently claimed he was cutting back his time with DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) because his company, Tesla, is flopping due to his involvement in ruining people’s lives, decided to share another video of himself playing Diablo IV.
The billionaire is still desperate to prove that he is the ultimate gamer, but in the process, he only invited trolls to clown him once again. Musk’s skills came under scrutiny when he was accused by gamers, including the popular problematic streamer Asmongold, of paying someone to play Path of Exile 2 for him or “fraudmaxing.”
Being the petulant manchild he is, Musk unfollowed Asmongold, stripped him of his verified status, and shared the DMs they exchanged with each other.
Musk would eventually admit to cheating in both Diablo IV and Path of Exile 2, but his lame behavior hasn’t stopped. He shared another stream of himself playing Diablo IV on his X account, but this time he disabled his comments, only allowing his closest friends to reply to the post, because people were once again clowning his skills.
This latest moment also follows Musk’s “rage quitting” when trolls took over his comment section during a test of his Starling service on his private plane, which United Airlines allegedly wants to use on its fleet of commercial aircraft.
Elon Musk’s Gaming History
Musk takes his gaming very seriously; he is so into it that he had a gaming rig installed in his DOGE office to get in some gaming time between laying off hard-working Americans.
It doesn’t sound very efficient, if you ask us; in fact, that sounds like a complete waste of government time and money.
Well, we hope Musk continues to get trolled; he deserves every bit of it.
After sparking romance rumors for more than a year, Lucy Dacus finally confirmed that she and Boygenius bandmate Julien Baker were dating in March — but there’s still one thing about sharing her relationship publicly that makes the “Night Shift” singer “uncomfortable,” she says.
While speaking to The Forty-Five in an interview published Monday, Dacus began by talking about how her new album, Forever Is a Feeling, started out as a gift to her girlfriend, with the Virginia native initially confessing her feelings for the guitarist through some of the songs on the LP. “It was like, ‘OK, feelings are on the table, and we ought not touch them, because our relationship is too important, and I support what you want for your life,’” Dacus reflected.
“Or like, ‘Wow, what a surprise that we’re saying this out loud,’” she continued. “‘But let’s ultimately just say that we matter to each other and move on.’ That was real. That’s how I felt.”
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Now that they’re together, however, Dacus says she isn’t exactly excited about the fact that fans will now be combing through the lyrics on Forever Is a Feeling for clues about her relationship with Baker. “In a way, that’s the bit that makes me feel uncomfortable,” she told the publication.
“The lore of it all – people treating our lives like a Marvel Universe,” added the songwriter. “But then again, what is lore if not the story? Some parts of my story I keep for myself, but this is the story that defines my life. So what am I gonna do?”
The interview comes a full seven years after Dacus, Baker and Phoebe Bridgers first established Boygenius, debuting the supergroup in 2018 with a self-titled EP. The trio reunited in 2023 to drop their first full-length album as a group, with The Record winning three Grammys at the following year’s awards show.
When finally addressing her relationship with her bandmate for the first time publicly last month, Dacus said in an interview with The New Yorker, “It’s been interesting, because I want to protect what is precious in my life, but also to be honest, and make art that’s true … Maybe a healthier way to think about it is that [my relationship]’s not actually fragile.”
She later told People, “It’s funny to just say it so plainly, because I feel like there’s all of this tension of people guessing.”
“I don’t know, we just talked about it kind of recently, and we were like, ‘What is actually at risk for people knowing this?’” she continued. “We wanted to be protective because it matters so much. I hope to God people knowing won’t make it a less true or pleasant experience … She’s ready to be telling people, too. So, from us to you, we are in love.”
Latto headlined Syracuse University’s Block Party 2025 over the weekend, and she got around to posting some pictures from her time on the central New York campus on Tuesday (April 29). While she’ll always be Big Mama, Latto went by Big Daddy in Syracuse as she rocked a throwback ‘fit that went diamond in the […]
Did you know Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal were hip-hop heads?
As the two actors promote their film The Accountant 2, they sat down with Complex for their “GOAT Talk” series and the topic of Rap Mount Rushmore came up, with Ben offering up some interesting picks.
“I think Lil Wayne should be on there,” he said. “You were talking about Eazy-E today. We were talking about back when we were young. I mean, you know, a lot of talk about, ‘Well, Slick Rick.’ And then of course, there’s Kendrick right now.’”
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Ben seemed to feel put on the spot and was throwing out names off the dome, but when Jon asked him to confirm, the Armageddon actor answered, “Yeah, I mean, I kinda at random, but, yeah I’d take that Mount Rushmore. I’d take that,” before also bringing up Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg.
Bernthal essentially agreed with Ben’s picks, but replaced Slick Rick and Lil Wayne with the Notorious B.I.G. and 2Pac while also acknowledging that he liked the idea of Affleck putting Weezy on his.
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“I mean, I think you need Biggie on there. You need 2Pac on there,” The Punisher actor said. “But I’ll put Eazy on there and Kendrick, but I love that you put Lil Wayne on there.”
Ben then said that ‘Pac is probably his pick for greatest rapper ever before telling a funny story of his son asking him if he ever heard arguably the greatest diss song of all-time. “My son played me this song the other day,” he joked. “And he’s like, ‘Yo, you heard this?’ And he played me “Hit Em Up.” And I was like, ‘Have I heard this? Mothe—-er, I had a whole f—in’ life that I lived before you were born.’”
You can check out the full video below.
Paris Hilton graced Stagecoach 2025, and the pop queen shared how she prepped for her huge set, the details of her remix album, ‘Infinite Icon,’ and more!
Are you excited for Paris Hilton’s remix album? Let us know in the comments!
Tetris Kelly: We’re out here sliving with one of our favorite pop queens, Paris Hilton. How are you?
Paris Hilton: I am amazing right now. That was so much fun.
I mean, we gotta talk about how much fun it is. But let me tell you, you had one of the hottest sets at Stagecoach because Lance Bass from *NSYNC, the Backstreet Boys, Shaboozey, me, we were all outside. We couldn’t even get in Paris.
I heard there was 1000s of people trying to get in.
We were desperately trying to see your set, and you killed it. Brought Lizzo out. How was that?
I love her so much. She is so kind, lovely, talented, beautiful, amazing. Her new single is so sick. And it was just so much fun, feeling the energy and how excited everyone was. And I’m just so proud.
And I mean, you’ve been killing your festival season in general. You also popped up and surprised everybody at Coachella. So how do you prepare to, like, come to these festivals and put on a show like that?
I’ve actually been preparing this set for the past three months. So I’ve been researching, finding the best remixes of every song, remixing my songs, everything. So I want it to be very special and unique. And the outfit like this is from THEBLONDS, like it was a whole thing. And then my dancers, I’m just so grateful to my whole team for helping me put on an iconic show.
Keep watching for more!
Diane Warren, one of modern music’s most celebrated songwriters, was honored Monday (April 28) night at the New York Pops Gala at Manhattan’s Carnegie Hall for her extraordinary achievements in the music industry. The event brought together Warren, conductor Steven Reineke and a host of award-winning artists to pay tribute to her impact on decades of pop music.
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Warren’s songwriting journey spans what feels like a lifetime of accomplishments with her first Billboard Hot 100 hit dating back to 1983 with “Solitaire,” performed by Laura Branigan. She has earned nine No. 1 hits among 33 top 10s on the Billboard Hot 100, and shares the record for the most No. 1s written by one writer – eight – in the chart’s history. Her vast catalog includes beloved classics such as “Only Love Can Hurt Like This” (Paloma Faith), “Un-Break My Heart” (Toni Braxton), “If I Could Turn Back Time” (Cher) and “Rhythm of the Night” (DeBarge).
The New York Pops recognized the Grammy winner with a series of moving performances by guest artists including Shoshana Bean, Sofia Carson, Taylor Dayne, Ariana DeBose, Micaela Diamond, Brandon Victor Dixon, Angélique Kidjo, Hailey Kilgore, Mykal Kilgore, Storm Large and LeAnn Rimes. Backed by the full orchestra, each artist performed a specially arranged version of one of Warren’s songs. Among the evening’s standout moments was Storm Large’s powerful rendition of “How Can We Be Lovers,” arranged and orchestrated by Dylan Condor. Sofia Carson—best known for her song in the Academy Award-nominated 2023 film Tell It Like A Woman—delivered a stirring performance of “Applause,” penned by Warren for the film. Carson expressed heartfelt gratitude to Warren, praising her dedication and her gift for channeling raw emotion through music.
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Alongside Diane, Reineke and the New York Pops, the PopsEd Program welcomed students from 15 states to the stage, including those in mentorship programs made possible by annual donors and the New York Pops Gala. PopsEd engages students of all ages and backgrounds, through mentorship, to spark creativity, build essential life skills, and make music accessible and fun. The PopsEd Program students sang alongside Mykal Kilgore, singing “Rhythm of the Night,” which DeBarge took to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 hit in 1985.
With performances spanning hits from the 1980s to the 2000s, the night was a powerful tribute to Diane Warren’s enduring influence and her gift for crafting songs that transcend genres and connect with audiences across generations.
