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To kick off Pride Month this year, Sabrina Carpenter, Ariana Grande, Dua Lipa and several more stars have added their names to an open letter advocating to keep federal funding in place for LGBTQ+ suicide prevention measures.
As unveiled by The Trevor Project on Monday (June 2), the letter comes in direct response to a leaked United States Department of Health and Human Services budget that showed the Donald Trump administration’s plans to eliminate funding for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ+-related services, which actively supports young people in the LGBTQ+ community considering suicide. Despite it providing help to more than 1.2 million estimated callers since its launch in 2022, the proposal would have the crisis line’s funding slashed entirely after going into effect on Oct. 1.
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“We are heartbroken by the proposal to eliminate federal funding for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Services — a move that will have devastating, life-threatening consequences for young people across the country,” reads the message, which was also signed by Pedro Pascal, Jamie Lee Curtis, Cara Delevingne, Sarah Paulson, Daniel Radcliffe and Darren Criss. “As artists, creators, and public figures, our platforms come with responsibility. And today, that responsibility is clear: We must speak out to protect the mental health and lives of LGBTQ+ youth. We will not stay silent.”
Acknowledging that youth suicide in the LGBTQ+ community is a “public health crisis” — with The Trevor Project estimating that more than 1.8 million in the U.S. alone seriously consider suicide every year — the signatories directly called on Congress to “do the right thing” by restoring and protecting funding for 988 in the 2026 budget. The letter ends with a message of support addressed to people most affected by the proposed cuts, as well as an encouragement to sign the nonprofit’s petition to save its program.
“To every LGBTQ+ young person reading this: You are not alone,” it concludes. “We see you. We value you. You have the right to feel safe, supported, and loved exactly as you are. You deserve access to life-saving services that honor your humanity. You may be hurting. You may be scared. You may feel like no one hears you — but we do. We will keep showing up and speaking out. We will not stop fighting for you.”
Among the other musicians who signed are Aly & AJ, Bea Miller, Blondshell, Christina Aguilera, Diplo, Ethel Cain, FLETCHER, GAYLE, Julia Michaels, Kelsea Ballerini, King Princess, MARINA, Orville Peck, Tove Lo and Troye Sivan. More big names are likely to sign in the coming days, as the letter will stay open for new signatories on a rolling basis.
The message comes at a particularly harrowing time for members of the LGBTQ+ community, who have watched as Trump has spent his first few months back in office working to undo protections for gay, trans and nonbinary people. GLAAD documented at least 225 attacks on LGBTQ+ rights within the first 100 days of the twice-impeached POTUS’ second term, including attempts to defund HIV research and cut programs supporting the community.
But as The Trevor Project and its allies put it in their letter, now is the time to “rise together — loudly and determined — for hope, for dignity, and for every LGBTQ+ young person to know that their lives are worthy and that there will always be someone on the other end of the line.”
If you or anyone you know is in crisis, call 988 or visit the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s website for free, confidential emotional support and resources 24/7.
President Donald Trump has demonstrated in times past that he is chronically online, as some have witnessed via his frequent posts on his social media network, Truth Social. Taking to his platform once more, President Donald Trump shared a post promoting a peculiar conspiracy theory alleging that former President Joe Biden was replaced by a clone.
Over the weekend, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social and reshared a post from a user that suggests that President Joe Biden was replaced by robotic clones in 2020. The post itself was replete with hashtags such as “#BlackMen,” “#Blackwomem, “#Blacks,” and “#Jews” along with mentions towards political groups and media outlets.
“There is no #JoeBiden – executed in 2020. #Biden clones doubles & robotic engineered soulless mindless entities are what you see. #Democrats dont know the difference,” read the leading portion of the brief post. The user, who has around 5,000 followers, had the good fortune of getting President Trump’s attention, who reshared the post to his millions of followers.
While there is no proof of this claim, it does appear to be a recent one. Biden has been a favorite target of Trump supporters and the MAGA faithful, who believe the former president’s performance in his first and final term as the nation’s leader left America in worse shape than Trump.
The Truth Social user also shared an article from The Babylon Bee, a fictional news outlet similar to The Onion, which leans into political satire and has fooled former politicians in the past into thinking it is a fact-based news organization.
President Trump and former President Biden have not made any comments about the theory, from what we’ve been able to assess.
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Photo: Anadolu / Getty
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With Pride Month 2025 coming amid dark times for the LGBTQ+ community, pop singer Reneé Rapp wants her fans to know there is still light in the dark — they just have to go looking for it. In a new cover story for Cosmopolitan on Monday (June 2), the “Leave Me Alone” singer shared a […]
Despite weather-related chaos, the annual Philly festival delivered unforgettable performances and cultural moments.
The iMarine Project, a media mix content project by SANYO, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. It has recently kicked off a new chapter with “iMarine Project++” (read: “iMarine Project Plus”). Billboard JAPAN spoke with Aya Uchida, voice actress for iMarine, about what progress she feels the project has made over the past decade and her hopes for its future.
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The iMarine Project was launched in 2015, and then in 2020, Sanyo began iMarine Project (New Chapter). Now, in 2025, it is about to enter a new stage of its evolution, iMarine Project++. Looking back, what has your impression been of the past ten years?
The iMarine Project itself is celebrating its 10th anniversary, but I became a part of it with its third release, “Dive to Blue,” which was a full-length animated music video. It emphasized the concept that “iMarine is in your town, too,” which may be why I was chosen as the voice actress.
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From that point on, each year I’ve worked with a different creator, and the videos and aesthetic have kept on changing. The fourth release was an animated music video with characters from Umi Monogatari, who had their own lines, so it felt like the style had changed to one that was showing the world of Umi Monogatari through animation and lyrics.
“Deep Blue Town e Oide yo,” right? That was arranged like a story, starting out with an anime segment, then segueing into the song, and then ending with another anime segment.
Right. In the fifth release, we went with a more stylish, adult diva style. I feel like at that point the anime elements were completely gone, and the project had become more of a song-centered project.
Then 2020 saw the start of iMarine Project (New Chapter), whose concept was a “2.8-dimensional” idol.
This is where the story suddenly started getting much deeper. We were taking on a new challenge—expressing a story, a world, a scene, all through music.
There’s an online novel, and the Crystal Palace setting was reproduced in VRChat. It’s gone beyond just being a “media mix” to become a work that fuses all kinds of elements of all kinds of dimensions. The iMarine Project++ is the culmination of all that’s been done by the cast and directors to expand this one work.
Over the last five years, the project has fleshed out and defined the world and its aesthetics based on the story. This five year period has been a series of experiments, right?
The project is a media mix that combines not only physical spaces but also digital spaces, so every challenge has been a new one. This was also all being done while VTuber culture was growing, and it was so much fun being on the cutting-edge of the changing times.
As a performer, has the fusion of the digital and physical worlds made the project a difficult one?
Yes, a bit. As a voice actress, I’ve done a lot of work in the physical world, and I’m confident in that area, but when it comes to the digital world, I’m still feeling things out as I go along. For example, popular VTubers have their own defined characters, but they also speak really freely. [Laughs]
In the case of iMarine, the character is defined in a novel, so if I say the wrong thing, it could break that in-world feel. Like, if I wanted to say “I had some ramen today,” before I could even open my mouth, I’d start thinking “Wait, ramen might not exist in that world.” There’s a part of me that’s always operating with that actor’s mindset. [Laughs]
So because of the detailed setting, you’re in a different position than VTubers, who can act without thinking that deeply.
Yes, but lately, the way I’ve been thinking about it has started to change a little. There are things that Saeki has said as Ichika at VR events that just naturally became part of her character. For example, she said “I’m a big eater.” [Laughs] This thing she’d said became part of her virtual character, and when I realized that, I came to feel like I could speak more freely. The world and the aesthetic of the iMarine Project story is well-defined, but, surprisingly, the details about the characters themselves are a little vague. I think going forward, we’re going to be fleshing out the world of iMarine Project++ along with the members of the recently announced fan club, Musical Armored Division of Freedom.
In the new song, “M.A.D.,” which was recently debuted on-stage, you’ve taken on a new genre: hip-hop.
Idols have been performing some really cool hip-hop recently. I’m a big listener in my own personal life, so I was really happy that iMarine would finally take on the genre.
I think the presence of iMarine Project’s works goes beyond the bounds of anime and videos, so I’ve had this intense desire to perform using a really cool voice on a song that I felt really confident in.
So you feel like the quality of the music needs to be elevated beyond so-called “character songs” to better music-as-music. And also that the meanings of the songs are growing deeper as the story progresses.
This time, the music is going in a whole different direction. It’s darker, with more of a street vibe. It has this sense of a strong spirit that’s unbowed by everyday hard existence. Like a light in the middle of despair. I like that really down-to-earth feel in music.
In a strange way, even though the project is set in this digital world, the feeling of humanity really comes across. There’s this rebellious spirit in the face of daily struggles. It’s more human than human.
Exactly. The setting of the story is that iMarine and Ichika are both AIs, and the other members were originally humans, but they became AIs.
So I’m not human, but for precisely that reason, when I sing, it feels like in some way I’m almost being my natural self, the way I am now. I can express the passion in my heart. I love it, and in fact that may be the part that feels the most rewarding.
Everyone on the cast was overflowing with praise for a dance performance by one of the characters in the music video. I’m guessing that part made a big impression on you, too?
You’re talking about Isana’s breakdancing, aren’t you. [Laughs] I’ve done motion capture for characters on two songs before, and it really opened my eyes to how impressive and how hard motion capture is. That breakdancing was performed by using motion capture on an actual dancer. The level of technical skill needed to capture that kind of frenetic movement was just amazing! [Laughs]
There’s also the crowd of people wearing hoods. I liked how the concept of “we’re not alone” was highlighted through the whole video. Until now, we’ve been having people look at the world we created, but going forward, we’re going to make it so that people can get immersed from the perspective of the Musical Armored Division of Freedom.
This project is right on the bleeding edge, but it’s amazing how the end results always come out great. I’ve got to keep working hard to keep up so I don’t fall behind.
—This interview by Mio Komachi first appeared on Billboard Japan
Universal Music, Warner Music and Sony Music are in talks with Udio and Suno to license their music to the artificial intelligence startups, Billboard has confirmed, in deals that could help settle blockbuster lawsuits over AI music.
A year after the labels filed billion-dollar copyright cases against Udio and Suno, all three majors are discussing deals in which they would collect fees and receive equity in return for allowing the startups to use music to train their AI models, according to sources with knowledge of the talks. Bloomberg first reported the news on Sunday (June 1).
If reached, such deals would help settle the litigation and establish an influential precedent for how AI companies pay artists and music companies going forward, according to the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss the talks freely.
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Such an agreement would mark an abrupt end to a dispute that each side has framed as an existential clash over the future of music. The labels say the startups have stolen music on an “unimaginable scale” to build their models and are “trampling the rights of copyright owners”; Suno and Udio argue back that the music giants are abusing intellectual property to crush upstart competition from firms they see as a “threat to their market share.”
Settlement talks are a common and continuous feature of almost any litigation and do not necessarily indicate that any kind of deal is imminent. It’s unclear how advanced such negotiations are, or what exactly each side would be getting. And striking an actual deal will require sorting out many complex and novel issues relating to brand-new technologies and business models.
Reps for all three majors declined to comment. Suno and Udio did not immediately return requests for comment. A rep for the RIAA, which helped coordinate the lawsuits, declined to comment.
If Suno and Udio do grant equity to the majors in an eventual settlement, it will call to mind the deals struck by Spotify in the late 2000s, in which the upstart technology company gave the music industry a partial ownership stake in return for business-critical content. Those deals turned out to be massively lucrative for the labels and helped Spotify grow into a streaming behemoth.
The cases against Udio and Suno are two of many lawsuits filed against AI firms by book authors, visual artists, newspaper publishers and other creative industries, who have argued AI companies are violating copyrights on a massive scale by using copyrighted works to train their models. AI firms argue that it’s legal fair use, transforming all those old works into “outputs” that are entirely new.
That trillion-dollar question remains unanswered in the courts, where many of the lawsuits, including those against Suno and Udio, are still in the earliest stages. But last month, the U.S. Copyright Office came out against the AI firms, releasing a report that said training was likely not fair use.
“Making commercial use of vast troves of copyrighted works to produce expressive content that competes with them in existing markets, especially where this is accomplished through illegal access, goes beyond established fair use boundaries,” the office wrote in the report.
Even with the legal landscape unsettled, some content companies have struck deals with AI firms. Just last week, the New York Times — which is actively litigating one of the copyright cases — struck a deal to license its editorial content to Amazon for AI training. Last fall, Microsoft signed a deal with HarperCollins to use the book publisher’s nonfiction works for AI model training.
Music companies have not struck any such sweeping deals, and instead have preferred more limited partnerships with tech companies for “ethical” AI tools. UMG signed a deal last summer with SoundLabs for an AI-powered voice tool for artists and another one in November with an AI music company called KLAY. Sony made an early-stage investment in March in a licensed AI platform called Vermillio.
Source: Anadolu / Getty
On Sunday (June 1), a weekly walk held by members of the Jewish community in Boulder, Colorado, to support Israeli hostages held in Gaza was disrupted when a man allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail into the crowd and used a makeshift flamethrower, according to the FBI. Eight people, ranging in age from 52 to 88, were injured in the attack with two in serious condition being airlifted to a hospital in Aurora. One of the injured is a Holocaust survivor.
“This wasn’t a pro-Israel rally or some sort of political statement on the war,” said Executive Director of the University of Boulder Hillel, Elyanna Funk. “These are peaceful people who’ve been walking for nearly 20 months weekly to bring awareness for the hostages.”The suspect, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, was pointed out by witnesses at the scene. According to a store owner who spoke to CNN, Soliman was seen as “pretty calm, pacing around with the spray bottles that were filled with some sort of flammable liquid.” Other witnesses allege that he yelled “Free Palestine!!” before using the incendiary devices at the “Run For Their Lives” event. Soliman, 45, was arrested on two counts of first-degree assault and crimes against at-risk adults or elderly people. He’s currently being held in the Boulder County Jail on a $10 million bond.
The FBI reportedly searched a home in an apartment complex in Colorado Springs with ties to Soliman, who neighbors said drove an Uber in Denver and wasn’t around that much according to local network KKTV 11 News. Neighbors expressed shock at the news. According to Department of Homeland Security, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin, Soliman was in the United States illegally. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, McLaughlin wrote,” He entered the country in August 2022 on a B2 visa that expired on February 2023. He filed for asylum in September 2022.”
The Colorado Terrorist attack suspect, Mohamed Soliman, is illegally in our country. He entered the country in August 2022 on a B2 visa that expired on February 2023. He filed for asylum in September 2022. pic.twitter.com/1Jd5IA9bcg— Tricia McLaughlin (@TriciaOhio) June 2, 2025
The incident comes after the shooting death of two Israeli embassy employees at an event held by the American Jewish Committee in Washington, D.C. The AJC is an advocacy group which supports Israel and combats antisemitism. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer described the attack as “horrifying” in a statement, and Colorado governor Jared Polls said in a statement, “My thoughts go out to the people who have been injured and impacted by this heinous act of terror. Hate-filled acts of any kind are unacceptable.”
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CMA Fest will officially launch June 5-8 in Downtown Nashville, with tens of thousands of fans expected to participate in nightly stadium concerts, plus hundreds of daytime performances at smaller venues.
They’re also afforded the opportunity to collect autographs at Fan Fair X in the Music City Center.
On top of the official activities, a host of CMA Fest-adjunct events will take place beginning June 2. The following is a rundown of many of those events. (Advance confirmation may be required.)
June 2
• Darius & Friends ShowRyman AuditoriumDarius Rucker’s annual concert featuring a surprise guest list.
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• Ty Herndon’s Concert for Love & AcceptanceCategory 10The 10th and final edition includes Dasha, Sam Williams, Brooke Eden, David Archuleta, Shelly Fairchild, and Lindsay Ell.
June 3
• Craig Campbell’s Celebrity Cornhole Challenge6th & PeabodyFeaturing Jerrod Niemann and Gary LeVox.
• Whiskey Jam Takeover by River HouseWhiskey RowPerformers: Austin Snell, Ryan Charles, The Kentucky Gentlemen.
June 4
• CAA Whiskey Jam TakeoverWhiskey RowFeaturing Warren Zeiders, 49 Winchester, Colby Cooper, and Carter Faith.
• Turn It Up! Texas Daytime PerformancesCategory 10Featuring Smithfield, Jenna Paulette, and Jack Blocker.
June 5
• Warner Music Nashville’s Heatwave HouseBarstoolPerformers: Gabby Barrett, Ingrid Andress, Ian Munsick, Hudson Westbrook.
• FEMcountry Showcase by Leslie FramCity WineryFeaturing Brittney Spencer, Lucie Silvas, Abbey Cone, and more.
• Billboard Country Live (June 5–6)Category 10Featuring Drew Baldridge, Max McNown, Reyna Roberts.
• Big Machine Pop-Up (June 5–7)Bell Bottoms UpArtists include Greylan James, Caroline Jones, Brett Young, and Midland.
• Spotify House at Ole Red (June 5–7)Featuring Carly Pearce, Riley Green, Nate Smith, and others.
• BMI Block Party (June 5–7)Outdoor stage at Ryman AuditoriumPerformers: Kelsey Hart, Noah Rinker, Grace Tyler, Tyler Braden.
• Sounds Like Nashville by MCA (June 5–8)Skydeck on BroadwayFeaturing Tucker Wetmore, Vincent Mason, Crowe Boys, Caylee Hammack, Bryce Leatherwood, Sons of Habit.
June 6
• ASCAP Showcase6th & PeabodyFeaturing Jordan Fletcher, Maddie Lenhart, Beck and Call.
After her massive breakthrough as Elphaba in 2024’s Wicked, Cynthia Erivo is giving fans a taste of what’s to come in the film’s final chapter this fall. In her Billboard cover story published Monday (June 2), Erivo teases what fans can expect from her green-skinned heroine in Wicked: For Good, the much-anticipated second part of […]
Source: Netflix / Netflix
It’s been three years since the fourth season of Stranger Things left fans wondering what we could expect from the supernatural saga, and now we’ve gotten an idea of what’s to come as Netflix has finally released their first teaser trailer for the fifth and final season of their franchise series.
Though details about the fifth and final season remain scarce, it looks like the monsters of the Upside Down will be making their way to our reality as our heroes attempt to keep them at bay with what we expect to be many casualties. Our only question is whether or not Eleven’s other super-enhanced friends like Kali (Eight) and the others will finally return to the series or if they’ll just be completely ignored following their appearance in Season 2. We sure hope to see them come back and help Eleven and them save the day.
Releasing in three volumes, the final season of Stranger Things we be premiering Nov. 26, followed by a second installment Dec. 1 and the finale on New Year’s Eve. Netflix is really stretching this one out. It better be worth it.
Check out the teaser trailer to the fifth season of Stranger Things, and let us know what you want to see in the final season in the comments section below.
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