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Shakira is the top Latin touring artist on the Billboard Boxscore midyear chart, grossing $130 million on her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour so far. Shakira reported 21 concerts for the midyear touring period, which runs from Oct. 31, 2024, to March 31, 2025, landing her the number two slot overall on the […]
Ye (formerly Kanye West) misses the G.O.O.D. times. Yeezy took to X on Friday (May 30), extending an olive branch to his former right-hand collaborator, Pusha T, after King Push name-dropped West on the new Clipse single. “I miss me and Pusha’s friendship,” Ye wrote of his ex-G.O.O.D. Music president. West seemed to get wind […]
Following Patti LuPone‘s recent remarks disparaging fellow Broadway actresses Audra McDonald and Kecia Lewis, more than 500 members of the Broadway community have signed an open letter calling out the musical theater legend for “bullying” and “harassment.”
In the message published Friday (May 30) — just a few days after a New Yorker piece quoted LuPone as saying that McDonald was “not a friend” while calling Cole a “bi—” for labeling herself a stage “veteran” — the signatories wrote that the Agatha All Along star’s comments were “degrading and misogynistic,” as well as a “blatant act of racialized disrespect.” People who signed the letter include Courtney Love, as well as Tony winners James Monroe Iglehart, Maleah Joi Moon and Wendell Pierce.
“It constitutes bullying,” the letter continues. “It constitutes harassment. It is emblematic of the microaggressions and abuse that people in this industry have endured for far too long, too often without consequence.”
Trending on Billboard
Though the signatories directly urged the American Theatre Wing and the Broadway League to disinvite LuPone from the 2025 Tony Awards — as well as other “industry events” such as “fundraisers and public programs” — they also insisted that their message was about “more than one person.”
“It is about a culture. A pattern. A persistent failure to hold people accountable for violent, disrespectful, or harmful behavior — especially when they are powerful or well-known,” the letter reads. “This is not about differing opinions. It is about public actions that demean, intimidate, or perpetuate violence against fellow artists. It is about the normalization of harm in an industry that too often protects prestige over people.”
Billboard has reached out to LuPone’s rep for comment.
The letter adds to the online backlash LuPone has been facing since her New Yorker profile went live Monday. In the piece, LuPone reflected on how she once asked Shubert Organization head Robert Wankel to step in after sound from the Alicia Keys-created musical Hell’s Kitchen, in which Lewis starred, could be heard during LuPone’s performances of The Roommate next door on Broadway. Shortly after LuPone’s complaint, Lewis posted an Instagram video labeling the icon’s actions as “bullying,” “racially microaggressive” and “rooted in privilege” for calling “a Black show loud.”
“She calls herself a veteran? Let’s find out how many Broadway shows Kecia Lewis has done, because she doesn’t know what the f— she’s talking about,” LuPone told The New Yorker of the situation. “Don’t call yourself a vet, bi—.”
As for McDonald, LuPone took issue with the Private Practice star showing support for Lewis in the comments of said Instagram video. “I thought, You should know better,” LuPone told the publication, noting that there had been an undisclosed “rift” between the two actresses. “That’s typical of Audra. She’s not a friend.”
McDonald later responded in an interview with Gayle King, saying she had no idea what “rift” LuPone was referring to.
But while the comments could be regarded as typical for the famously forthright LuPone, the members of the Broadway community who signed Friday’s open letter thinks she crossed a line. “To publicly attack a woman who has contributed to this art form with such excellence, leadership, and grace … is not simply a personal offense,” their statement reads. “It is a public affront to the values of collaboration, equity, and mutual respect that our theater community claims to uphold.
“We cannot continue to welcome back those who harm others simply because of their fame or perceivedvalue,” it concludes. “This must stop. We will no longer tolerate violence—verbal, emotional, or physical—against artists within our own community. No more free passes. If our industry is truly committed to equity, justice, and respect, then those values must be applied consistently, even when it’s uncomfortable.”
Eminem’s music publisher is suing Meta over accusations that Facebook and Instagram made “Lose Yourself” and other iconic tracks available to billions of users without permission, violating copyright law on a “massive” scale in the pursuit of “obscene monetary benefit.”
In a complaint filed Friday (May 30) in federal court, Eight Mile Style alleged that the social media giant added Eminem’s songs to its music library without the necessary licenses, allowing users to add them to millions of videos that have been “viewed billions of times.”
“Meta’s years-long and ongoing infringement of the Eight Mile compositions is another case of a trillion (with a ‘T’) dollar company exploiting the creative efforts of musical artists for the obscene monetary benefit of its executives and shareholders without a license and without regard to the rights of the owners of the intellectual property,” Eight Mile Style’s lawyer, Richard Busch, wrote in the filing.
Trending on Billboard
Eight Mile’s lawyers made a point to note that the lawsuit was not about Facebook and Instagram users uploading songs illegally — an issue heavily litigated between tech companies and music firms for years — but about the platforms themselves actively infringing copyrights.
“The rampant infringement of which Meta is guilty is not a case of merely allowing its users to infringe,” Busch wrote. “Rather, this case involves Meta’s knowing infringement of the [Eminem songs] by first reproducing and storing them in Meta’s online Music Libraries, and then distributing them for users to select and incorporate into their own photos and videos.”
Eminem doesn’t own Eight Mile Style, and the rapper is not involved in the litigation. A spokesperson for Meta did not immediately return a request for comment. Reached by Billboard, Eight Mile’s attorney Busch said: “Everything we have to say is in the complaint.”
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05/30/2025
Eight Mile Style is no stranger to copyright litigation. The company spent years suing Spotify over claims that the streamer didn’t secure proper licenses before uploading Eminem’s music to the platform. That case was dismissed last year by a federal judge who said the publisher had waited too long to sue.
At the center of Friday’s lawsuit are the huge libraries of fully licensed music that modern social media platforms provide for users, making it easy to add their favorite songs to their videos and photos. Such catalogs were an attempt to fix the chaotic early days of social media, where users would upload infringing music and sites would take it down if flagged.
The key innovation of those libraries is that they were licensed by rightsholders, but Eight Mile Style says Meta has no such license to include Eminem’s music in the libraries on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
“The Eight Mile compositions are some of the most valuable in the world, and Eight Mile Style is very protective of these iconic songs,” the company’s lawyers wrote in the lawsuit. “Defendants have enjoyed massive profits at Eight Mile Style’s expense, in an amount to be determined, by copying and making the Eight Mile compositions available to Meta’s billions of active daily users.”
Notably, Eight Mile’s lawyers say they have proof that Meta knew it needed a license for Eminem’s music but had failed to secure one.
The suit claims that in 2020, Meta negotiated a music license with Audiam, a digital rights collection agency, to cover music that appears on its platforms. During those talks, the suit says the social giant “tried to negotiate, unsuccessfully” to include the Eight Mile tracks in that deal — and came away from it knowing “that no license was granted by Audiam or Eight Mile Style as part of those negotiations.”
“Indeed, these facts were confirmed by Audiam prior to this litigation, and Meta has not provided Eight Mile Style with any license authorizing its use of the Eight Mile Compositions, despite repeated requests to do so,” Busch wrote in the Friday complaint. Audiam is not named in the suit nor accused of any wrongdoing.
Source: Charley Gallay / Getty
For some weird, exhausting, yet completely unsurprising reason, Brandy’s brother continues to insist on dying on Diddy Hill.
This time, Ray J took his foolhardy “free Diddy” campaign to Piers Morgan Uncensored, where, on Tuesday,” the “One Wish” singer proceeded to word salad his way through a declaration that Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is currently on trial in New York for alleged sex trafficking and racketeering, is an innocent man who will be set free soon enough.
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“I personally think it’s gonna happen faster than a lot of people think, because I think we’re all starting to see what this is, even if you’re on the other side of it,” Ray J said. “I mean, the justice system is the justice system. Where does this fit?… It’s off. I don’t like it and I want to be vocal about it.”
This is the first time Ray J has spoken about Diddy’s case since the trial began — and it comes after Cassie Ventura and Kid Cudi both gave damning testimony detailing the violence and harassment they allegedly experienced at the hands of the Bad Boy mogul — but it is far from the first time he’s taken it upon himself to play the role of diddy’s own personal Jonnie Cochran, only without the legal expertise and, well, expertise in anything other than being an obnoxious contrarian with a personal investment in throwing his lot behind an accused predator and abuser.
In fact, just last month, Ray J boldly (and without any indication that he had a clue what he was talking about) declared that the charges against Diddy are “nonsense” and that the disgraced Hip Hop producer would be “getting out,” and, of course, he did so while transparently trying to sound like the gangsta everyone knows he is not.
Ray J defends Diddy on Sneako’s stream“Puffy getting out of all that shit, they’re charging the n*gga for is nonsense, bro. He did something bad that we all seen & that shit is unacceptable, but that’s not what the charges are for” 👀 pic.twitter.com/gqxOsDr03R— FearBuck (@FearedBuck) April 22, 2025
“Puffy ’bout to get out too. On the dead homies, n*gga. Puffy getting out. All that sh*t they trying to charge that n*gga for is nonsense, bro. He did something bad that we all seen and that sh*t’s unacceptable, but that’s not what the charges are for. The charges are weak,” he said. (Seriously? “On the dead homies”??? OK, Temu Kendrick, calm down!)
It’s unclear what Ray J thinks “we’re all starting to see” regarding the trial that would have anyone but him and his fellow Diddler apologists believing Combs is innocent and will soon be released, but he seems to be holding tight to that dream.
Weird flex, but whatever.
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Diddy is currently on trial in New York for sex trafficking and racketeering. While the trial is still in its early stages, President Donald Trump was asked about potentially pardoning the Bad Boy mogul, and Trump admitted it’s something he’d consider. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news During […]
WAR will receive its star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Thursday June 5 – 56 years after the band was formed in Long Beach, Calif.
Comedian George Lopez, whose eponymous sitcom (2002-07) featured War’s 1975 smash “Low Rider” as its theme song, is set to speak at the event. In a fun twist, the group is scheduled to arrive at the star ceremony in low riders provided by four car clubs – Imperial Car Club, Groupe ELA, Spirit Car Club, and Southern Life Car Club.
Music producer Jimmy Jam will emcee the ceremony, which will take place at 11:30 a.m. PT at 6212 Hollywood Boulevard. It is the 2,814th star ceremony and will be streamed live exclusively at walkoffame.com.
The honor is shared by original members Lonnie Jordan, Harold Brown, Howard Scott, Lee Oskar and Jerry Goldstein; late members Charles Miller, Morris Dickerson and Thomas Sylvester Allen; and current members Salvador Rodriguez, Marcos Reyes, Rene Camacho, Scott Martin, Mitchell Kashmar and James Zota Baker.
Trending on Billboard
WAR had four top 10 albums on the Billboard 200, including one that reached No. 1 in 1973, The World Is a Ghetto. It had six top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, with the funky “The Cisco Kid” climbing as high as No. 2 in 1973 – kept from the top spot by Tony Orlando & Dawn’s resolutely unfunky “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree.”
“Low Rider,” released in 1975, was its only No. 1 on what was then called Hot Soul Singles (and is now called Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs). “Low Rider” has since become the band’s signature song. It was voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014.
WAR’s signature fusion of funk, soul, jazz, Latin, rock and street music made their music stand out in the 1970s, along with their ability to weave social messages into their songs, notably on “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” WAR have been nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame three times (2009, 2012, 2015), but have yet to get the nod.
The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce administers the Walk of Fame for the City of Los Angeles and has hosted these star ceremonies for decades.
Tetris Kelly & QTCinderella were at the AMA’s on the red carpet, and they asked Kehlani, Megan Moroney, Shaboozey, Becky G and more who they’d want to party in Vegas with.
Who would you want to spend 24 hours in vegas with? Let us know in the comments!
Tetris Kelly:
We’re in Vegas. If you’re going out with anybody tonight, you can pick one person to hit the streets with. Who are you taking?
Shaboozey: Man, I’ll probably take Morgan Wallen.
Okay. That’s gonna be a night.
QTCinderella: You would have to go. I think you might have to leave Vegas for that one. I don’t know Sin City. I don’t know if that’s God’s country.
Kehlani: Oh, my God. Bruno Mars, I watched this compilation video of him yesterday, of him purposely answering all the interview questions hilariously. And I think he’s hysterical. I would love to have a crazy 24 hours.
Two Friends: I think someone that would be able to, like come on stage and do a couple songs with us. I think Eminem would be cool.
Tetris Kelly: What?!
QTCinderella: That’s incredible.
Two Friends: He hasn’t done really anything EDM. Eminem, if you’re watching this, let us know.
Tommy Richman: I mean, people here, I’m trying to meet Janet Jackson, for real. I’m trying to, you know, get a number, make a song with her, man.
Mark Manio & Scott Hoying: Lady Gaga, she’s my favorite. Beyonce. I mean, Ariana, Ariana, it’s just a super group of girls. It would be so cool.
Tetris Kelly: Power group of girls, love that.
Megan Moroney: I mean, I’d probably go with my girl, Lainey.
Keep watching for more!
Alex Warren and Jelly Roll went all the way back to the Middle Ages in a music video for their new single “Bloodline.” Released Friday (May 30), the clip begins with Warren barricaded inside a medieval tavern. According to a brawny extra, there’s apparently a dangerous war raging outside. “The enemy shall be upon us […]
The last week of May is coming to a close, and it’s shaped up to be a big one for pop music releases. Miley Cyrus leads the charge with a full album of new music that dropped Friday (May 30), Something Beautiful, featuring the singles “End of the World” and “More to Lose.” The high-energy […]