Culture
Page: 430
Iam Tongi is already a fan-favorite on this 21st season of ABC’s American Idol. After delivering another grade-A performance, as he did with a haunting cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound Of Silence” on Monday night (April 10), the youngster is firming as a potential champion.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The high schooler has overcome the loss of his dad, and some major technical issues, to glide into Idol’s Hollywood Week.
Tongi’s vocals are both robust and sweet, with layers and angles few of us are gifted with. And when he’s at the mic, the spirit of Tongi’s father is never far.
Music and song was a force that connected the pair. “When Iam’s dad passed away,” the contestant’s mom says in a package, “he didn’t wanna sing anymore. He kept saying that every time he sings, he could hear his dad backing up. After talking to him… it’s a beautiful thing that he could hear his dad.”
On Monday’s episode, the teenage hopeful gave us another earful of his talents, this time with a reinterpretation of the Graduate classic.
The performance had Katy Perry reaching for the tissues. Later, during a sit down with all three judges, Perry told Tongi his “showstopping song” was a “brilliant pick. It made the room go silent. It gave more depth, more color, more layers to who you are.”
Flanked by Matt Wilson and Colin Stough, Tongi was reminded there’s only one more spot in the top 24. And he got it.
Plot twist. Perry had the honors of telling Matt Wilson and Colin Stough that Idol’s producers have blown up the 24-finalist format, and switched it to a contest for 26. And they’re both in.
The top 26 head through to Tongi’s homeland, for sessions with celebrity mentors and a concert at Hawaii’s Aulani Resort.
Watch below.
Kim Kardashian is a reality star, entrepreneur and skincare mogul — and now she’s adding high-profile actress to her list.
The SKIMS founder is joining Emma Roberts in FX’s American Horror Story for its 12th season, and according to The Hollywood Reporter, the role she’ll take on was written specifically for her.
“Kim is among the biggest and brightest television stars in the world and we are thrilled to welcome her to the AHS family,” said AHS co-creator Ryan Murphy told the publication. “Emma and I are excited about collaborating with this true force in the culture. Halley Feiffer has written a fun, stylish and ultimately terrifying role especially for Kim, and this season is ambitious and unlike anything we have ever done.”
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Filming for the new season is scheduled to begin in New York City later in April with a summer premiere currently scheduled, though Murphy and FX have yet to announce exact details.
Kardashian has had a number of appearances in shows like How I Met Your Mother, 2 Broke Girls and Paw Patrol, but the American Horror Story gig is her biggest role to date.
The star took to Instagram to tease the news, sharing a teaser clip featuring eerie music as the screen reads: “Emma Roberts and Kim Kardashian are delicate.” She captioned the post with a blood drop emoji and eyes emoji.
See her post below.
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
Curious about HBO Max? From hit shows and movies to documentaries, comedy specials and more, the streaming giant has enough content to keep everyone in the household entertained. Keep reading to learn more about HBO Max, including membership plans, pricing and how to get a free trial.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
What Is HBO Max?
HBO Max is the streaming platform launched by Warner Bros in 2020. The platform, which replaced HBO Go, gained a massive following during the beginning of the pandemic, namely because every 2021 Warner Bros. movie arrived on HBO Max the same day as its theater release. HBO Max and its sister streamer, Discovery+, have since grown to a combined 96.1 million subscribers (and counting).
Warner Bros. Discovery decided not to merge HBO Max and Discovery+ into one streaming platform and will reportedly launch a platform combining programming from both streamers. In the meantime, read on for a breakdown of HBO Max as it stands today, and what to watch.
What to Watch on HBO Max
Whether you love television, movies or a blend of both, HBO Max has the kind of streaming library tailormade for binge watchers. Some of the new, upcoming and previous seasons to hit HBO Max include Succession, which returned for its fourth and final season on March 26.
The Last of Us, The White Lotus, House of the Dragon, A Black Lady Sketch Show, Barry, The Sex Lives of College Girls, Rap Sh!t, Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, The Flight Attendant, Selena + Chef, Hacks and Euphoria are streaming on HBO Max along with movies and documentaries such as The Weeknd: Live at Sofi Stadium, Love, Lizzo, Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over, Shaq, Winning Time, The Menu, Don’t Worry Darling, All That Breathes, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, Making of The Last of Us, Music Box: Jason Isbell Running With Our Eyes Closed, Black Adam, Amsterdam and The Batman.
Also streaming on HBO Max: Industry, Belle, The Cleaning Lady, Abbott Elementary, The Vampire Diaries, Fixer Upper: The Castle, Property Brothers: Forever Home, And Just Like That, Gossip Girl, South Side, Station Eleven, Love Life, The Staircase, Peacemaker, Tokyo Vice and episodes of Degrassi: The Next Generation and HBO’s Hard Knocks series.
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver and Real Time With Bill Maher are on HBO Max, as well as numerous movies, classic episodes of beloved sitcoms such as The Nanny, The Fresh-Prince of Bel-Air and Friends, along with kid-approved and family-friendly shows including Sesame Street, Ben 10 and Looney Tunes Cartoons.
How Much Does HBO Max Cost?
HBO Max has expanded to two subscription tiers: ad-supported and commercial free. The platform also allows you to watch certain episodes for free. HBO Max’s paid subscriptions start at $9.99 ($99.99 a year) for ad-supported streaming, or $15.99 ($149.99 a year) to watch ad free.
HBO Max
HBO Max $9.99/month
The ad-supported and ad-free streaming plans let you enjoy over 13,000 hours of entertainment, exclusive access to must-watch movies, all your HBO favorites — and you can stream from up to five different profiles, which is great if there are multiple people in your household.
What’s only available on the ad-free plan? With HBO Max’s commercial-free plan, users can stream certain movies in 4K, download content to watch offline and stream from other countries. Streaming from outside the U.S.? Access HBO Max through ExpressVPN.
Does HBO Max Offer a Free Trial?
Unfortunately, HBO Max does not offer free trials, but the streaming giant has free episodes and previously announced promotions such last year’s $1.99/monthly deal for Black Friday and a 20% discount. You never know when the platform will launch another streaming deal, but there are ways to go about getting HBO Max for free right now.
Already subscribed to HBO? You may already have free HBO Max through Samsung TV, Roku, Verizon Fios and other cable or live TV streaming platforms. Not sure? Click here to find out if you already have access to HBO Max. Otherwise, you can score a free trail to HBO Max through platforms such as Prime Video and DirectTV Stream. AT&T quietly removed the HBO Max bundle deal from its wireless plans, but customers can still access free HBO Max with select plans and Cricket Wireless currently offers free HBO Max with a $60 unlimited plan.
Can you get a free trial to HBO Max through Hulu? New subscribers can enjoy a free trial to Hulu and add HBO Max as an additional channel for an extra $14.99 a month.
Currently, Direct TV Stream’s monthly plans start at $64.99/month with a two-year price guarantee and a Gemini streaming device.
DirectTV Stream’s HBO Choice plan is $84.99/month for 105+ live channels and local TV stations, DVR, sports channels (ACC Network, Big Ten Network, MLB Network, NBA TV, SEC Network, etc.) and more. You can also add HBO Max, Showtime, Starz and other channels for an additional fee.
The Premiere Plan ($154.99/month) includes free HBO Max, Showtime, Starz and Cinemax as well as everything in the cheaper tier, plus over 150+ live and local channels, 65,000 on-demand titles, unlimited DVR recording, regional sports networks and other benefits.
How to Get a Free Trial to HBO Max Through Prime Video
Prime Video recently added HBO Max to its lineup which includes Paramount+, Showtime, Starz, BET+, AMC+, Discovery+ and other streamers that you can add to your subscription. HBO Max is available ad-free for $15.99/month after a free trial for a week.
HBO Max on Prime Video
$15.99/month after 7-day free trial.
Prime Video is one of the many perks that’s included with Amazon Prime memberships. If you’re not a Prime member, click here to launch your 30-day free trial ($14.99/month after the free trial ends).
Besides Prime Video, the subscription includes free shipping on millions of items, a subscription to Amazon Prime Music, free GrubHub+ for a year and tons of other member benefits.
Prime Video recently beat out Netflix to become the No.1 subscription streaming platform in the U.S. The platform features Amazon Originals like Daisy Jones & The Six, Swarm, The Power, Harlem, Riches, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan and The Boyz, movies like Shotgun Wedding, Somebody I Used to Know, The People We Hate at the Wedding, My Policeman, The Summer I Turned Pretty along with music, fashion and sports programs such as Kendrick Lamar’s The Big Steppers Tour in Paris, Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty Vol. 4 and Thursday Night Football. You’ll also find paid episodes of hits shows Yellowstone, RuPaul’s Drag Race; and blockbuster films like Avatar: The Way of Water and Creed III on Prime Video.
It’s L-I-Z-Z-O; five letters and two vowels — and she’s here to show off her brand new nail art with a little help from RuPaul’s Drag Race.
In a post on TikTok on Saturday (April 8), Lizzo shared that she recently got duck nails — the divisive, flared-tip nail shape that has been taking over TikTok in the last two years. But instead of offering up any more discourse on whether or not duck nails are the “ugly sneakers” of nails, as Dazed put it, Lizzo simply decided to play with her new nails to the sound of Drag Race season 15 finalist Anetra.
The clip shows Lizzo voguing with her new pink nails while lip-synching along to Anetra’s now-iconic talent show performance from the season 15 premiere. “You better walk that f–king duck duck walk,” Lizzo mouthed to the camera. The duck-walking queen ended up seeing Lizzo’s video, and commented “Oh…. My god” under the clip.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The “About Damn Time” singer has been a longtime fan of Drag Race, even appearing on the show twice as a guest judge — once during season 10 of the show, and again for the season 14 premiere. She even enlisted a group of queens from the show (A’keria Davenport, Detox, Asia O’Hara, Mariah Paris Balenciaga, Morgan McMichaels, Silky Nutmeg Ganache, Soju, Kylie Sonique Love and Mayhem Miller) to help create a second music video for her track “Juice” back in 2019.
Meanwhile, Anetra will be one of four finalists — alongside Sasha Colby, Mistress Isabelle Brooks and Luxx Noir London — to compete for the crown and a record-breaking cash prize of $200,000 on Friday’s finale episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 15.
Check out Lizzo’s full lip sync to Anetra’s talent show performance below:
After a week of misunderstandings and onstage drama, American Idol hopeful Nutsa Buzaladze is redeeming herself. On the latest episode of the competition series, she tearfully apologized to Katy Perry — who last week told the 25-year-old singer to have more “grace” — and shared her take on what went down during her contentious duet rehearsals with Carina DeAngelo.
During last week’s duet round performances, DeAngelo threw Buzaladze under the bus by telling Perry and co-judges Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie that “some people wanted to sleep instead of working.” Buzaladze was visibly upset about the remark, but chose to keep silent — even as the “Firework” singer instructed her, “don’t forget about grace.”
“I wanted to tell my side of the story and I felt so bad, I was frozen,” she tearfully reflected in a sit-down with the judges that aired Sunday (April 9). “I didn’t want to bring negative energy, so that’s why I didn’t say nothing. I didn’t speak up because I didn’t want to cry on stage. After I left the stage I was just destroyed. So I wanted to apologize for that.”
Immediately, Perry stood up and hugged Buzaladze — who, in spite of the drama, moved forward to the next round while DeAngelo was sent home. “That is great,” Perry said. “That’s so wonderful and Nutsa, what I meant by grace is that it’s OK to be determined and ambitious and edgy and strong, but also with grace.”
“I really relate to you because I know what’s like to be a strong woman … to want to be strong and to never break and feel like nothing can ever get to me but that’s not real,” she added. “You’re a real person with a big heart and a big talent.”
In an April 4 Instagram post, Buzaladze — who this week proceeded to perform a show-stopping solo rendition of Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary” — explained in more detail what happened offstage between her and DeAngelo. “I want y’all to know that I took a 17-hour flight to get to LA, just 1.5 days before the shooting,” she wrote. “I did not know that we had additional vocal rehearsals, probably I missed this information , my bad. However, once Carina called me, I prepared myself and came back, as soon as I could, to rehearse even more.”
“I realized Carina was not feeling comfortable by that time and I did my best to rehearse as much as she wanted, I really wanted to make this experience unforgettable for both of us,” she continued. “She is a very talented girl, with strong vocals and I am sure she will achieve a lot in her career life and I wish her all the best.”
Watch Nutsa Buzaladze apologize to Katy Perry on American Idol below:
Jennifer Lopez strikes a fierce stance in the new posters for her upcoming Netflix drama The Mother. In the two images for the film slated to premiere on May 12 — the trailer drops on Tuesday (April 11) — Lopez stares into the distance with icy eyes while wearing a fur coat in a snowstorm, a cache of weapons slung over her left shoulder.
The intense images were shot by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz to promote the film in which Lopez plays an assassin who comes out of retirement to protect the daughter she’s never met from murderous criminal bent on revenge. The action adventure is the follow-up to last year’s Super Bowl halftime doc Halftime, as well as the singer’s return to rom-coms, Shotgun Wedding.
The film’s trailer finds a jacked Lopez doing pull-ups in a frigid climate in a sports bra and beanie cap and toting a long gun around while hunting. “She needs protection right now,” a steely-eyed JLo says amid a montage in which she speaks to her teary daughter in a diner, rips through town in a high-speed chase and pulls off a variety of action sequences on motorcycles and snowmobiles.
“If there’s trouble… come find me,” she says ominously. The rest of the cast for the film directed by Niki Caro (live-action Mulan) includes Joseph Finnes, Lucy Paez, Omari Hardwick, Paul Raci and Gael Garcia Bernal.
Not much else is known about the movie, but if Lopez’s husband, Oscar-winner Ben Affleck, is to be believed it is likely to be another one of her signature hits. “Here’s this incredible actress and this incredible performer. And then we’re sitting in the car, you know, and I’m humming along, like I will, you know, to the radio. And then a professional singer goes ahead and sings along and you kind of feel like, ‘Well that’s embarrassing,’” he told the hosts of the Smartless podcast last week about his awe about his wife’s talents and the songs she’s written about him over the years.
That high praise came a week after the couple walked the red carpet for the premiere of the dramatic origin story of Nike’s Air Jordan sneakers, Air, which Affleck stars in and also directed. At the time, he had more kind words for J.Lo for standing by his side during the film’s production, saying, “I love you. You mean the world to me. You’re fabulous, you’re amazing, you’re wonderful, good, kind, magnificent and I love you.”
Check out the poster and trailer for The Mother below.
After the drama, Nutsa Buzaladze brought some action to the American Idol stage as Hollywood Week rumbled on.
The 26-year-old native of Georgia, in Eastern Europe, turned it around with her performance on Idol, which aired Sunday night (April 9), after an incident during the previous duets round in which she was accused of sleeping on the job.
“We had a couple of issues last night,” Buzaladze’s duet partner Carina DeAngelo told the judges last time. “Some people wanted to sleep instead of working.” No prizes for guessing who those “people” are.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“It was really hurtful for me,” says Buzaladze in a package at the top of her latest performance. “I never do bad to people, I am not this person,” she told the cameras.
Katy Perry had a stinging comment after the duet, “Don’t forget about grace, more grace.”
Whatever, Buzaladze sailed through in the contest. DeAngelo did not. “Duet round was the hardest emotional experience I’ve had in my life, ever,” she says in a behind-the-scenes clip.
Later, Buzaladze apologized to the judges, and specifically Perry, and gave her “side of the story.” She didn’t speak out for fear of “bringing negative energy” and maybe crying on stage, she told the “Teenage Dream” singer.
With the drama to one side, Buzaladze got on with the action. Wearing a lime skin-tight one-piece outfit, Buzaladze went full-diva as she slammed a performance of Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary.”
“All the tears I had in the last round,” she enthused afterwards, “now I’m happy.”
The judges were too, as Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan all got to their feet. In a sit-down, Perry delivered the lines. “We have really appreciated you in this competition. Thank you for everything that you’ve brought. And we did not put you in the top 24. You put yourself in that top 24…with your spectacular talent.”
After an agonizingly long moment of confusion, some clarity. Nutsa is through to the top 24. Watch below.
Another week, another opportunity to catch up on the latest tracks from you favorite queer artists. Billboard Pride is proud to present the latest edition of Queer Jams of the Week, our roundup of some of the best new music releases from LGBTQ artists.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
From Ashnikko’s fierce new track to Yaeji’s truth-telling LP, check out just a few of our favorite releases from this week below.
Ashnikko, “Weedkiller”
You can run all you want, but you cannot hide from Ashnikko’s wrath. On “Weedkiller,” the titular single off the rising star’s forthcoming album, Ashnikko dives headfirst into a fearsome, violent persona, intent on hunting down those who have wronged her. The chaotic drum beats and glitching strings further add to the frenzied energy of this electric single, as Ashnikko declares that she “will be the one to eliminate you.”
Yaeji, With a Hammer
Most fans know Yaeji as the dance artist behind “Raingurl” — but the Korean-American star is ready to smash that perception apart With a Hammer. On her remarkable new album, Yaeji is done dealing with image and perception — Hammer is the DJ’s unflinching look at her interior life, parsing through the deep sadness (“Passed Me By”), simmering anger (“Fever”) and generational aches (“Done (Let’s Get It)”) of her life, all while maintaining her signature sound.
Cub Sport, Jesus at the Gay Bar
With Easter Weekend officially upon us, Cub Sport wants to propose a toast to all of the queer folks brought up in Christian homes who never had a chance to explore their sexuality or gender expression until later in life. Jesus at the Gay Bar, the Australian indie trio’s fifth full-length, sees Cub Sport bursting with unbridled queer joy — tracks like “High for the Summer,” “Always Got The Love” and “Magic in U” are practically bursting with sparkling house music, while even the more pared-down tracks like “Hold” and “Zoom” still manage to bring feel-good energy back into the mix. Put simply, this exuberant LP is the ode to queerness that so many need to hear right now.
Corook, “CGI”
Get ready to groove along to Corook’s thrumming new single. The latest from the singer-songwriter is “CGI,” a deliciously funky love song where she revels in the utter perfection of her lover. As she declares that “your face is so perfect like CGI,” a bouncing bass line pumps along with the stacked synth chords, marking a clear departure from the budding star’s softer sound into something slicker.
KiNG MALA, “Dirty Dishes”
With April upon us, plenty of people are looking to get their spring cleaning done as soon as possible. But KiNG MALA is in no rush, as she proves on her new single “Dirty Dishes.” Imbued with a funk-fueled guitar-and-bass section, the new track sees the pop upstart reveling in the grime surrounding her, as she lets a prospective lover know that she’ll only be motivated to tidy up if they come over and help her out. While the delectable production is certainly worth noting, the star of the track is KiNG MALA’s gorgeous vocal, as she promises that if you “come on over, I’ll get it figured out for you.”
Dorian Electra, “Freak Mode”
It’s been a few years since electro-pop artist Dorian Electra graced our ears with new solo music. But don’t worry; they’re here to let you know that they’re still ready to give you weird new tunes. “Freak Mode” is Electra at their best — the shock-rock-meets-hyperpop aesthetic provided by producer Clarence Clarity is a perfect fit as the experimental star revels in everything that makes them “different.”
Arthur Moon, “7 O’Clock Clap”
Brooklyn avant-pop singer Arthur Moon wants to get out of the hole they dug for themselves. “7 O’Clock Clap,” the latest track off their aptly named forthcoming album Chaos! Chaos! Chaos! Side B, blends together two distinct, often intentionally separated melodies, as Lora-Faye Åshuvud (the artist behind Arthur Moon) waxes poetic on the performance of personality. As the track picks up speed, Åshuvud proves to be in complete control, bringing the haywire production in for a smooth landing.
LEADR, “Aeiou Nothin”
Rising indie-pop artist LEADR promises that they have approximately no time for your relationship nonsense with this fiery breakup anthem. “Aeiou Nothin” doesn’t give into the schmaltzier, “I’m gonna love me for me” side of things — LEADR even turns their nose up at the idea early in the song’s lyrics. Instead, this brutal kiss-off sees the emerging artist letting their ex know that they’re not pressed. After all, “the fine print says karma’s a bitch.”
Check out all of our picks on Billboard’s Queer Jams of the Week playlist below:
Don’t let her last name deceive you. Courtney Love definitely didn’t “love” Molly Shannon’s impression of her on Saturday Night Live, according to the comedian.
Shannon reminisced on The Tonight Show Thursday (April 6) about the time the rocker tracked her down within minutes of a sketch airing live on Saturday Night Live, during which the former cast member stumbled around onstage and chain-smoked cigarettes to portray the Hole frontwoman. “The real Courtney Love showed up live, and she was mad,” Shannon said.
“She was like, ‘Where’s Molly?’” the A Good Person star snarled, sharing that she was still dressed up like Love when the real deal stormed in. “She was going around the studio hunting me down, ready to maybe punch me or something. I was like, ‘I’m scared.’ Maybe not punching, but definitely looking for me.”
Luckily, the situation ended without either star getting under the other’s “Celebrity Skin.” “She smelled like witchy oils and she was tall, she was tough,” continued Shannon, who is returning to host SNL on April 8. “She gave me a cigarette and then we smoked together. I told her why it’s such a compliment, you know when somebody does an impression of you, that’s, like, cool. She was really nice, we bonded. I’m a big fan of hers. She’s Courtney Love.”
Shannon’s story comes just two days shy of the 29th anniversary of when the outspoken singer’s husband, Kurt Cobain, was found dead. Love married the Nirvana rocker in 1992, and the two share daughter Frances Bean.
Now 30 years old, Frances posted a moving tribute to her father on Instagram Stories on April 5, the anniversary of his death. “Life is like a wave crashing upon the shore & death is like the wave returning back to the ocean, back to its most natural state,’” she wrote. “I forget exactly where I heard this quote but hearing it makes loss seem less scary and more like a return to the collective consciousness of loving awareness. Free from pain or human worry. Death serves a purpose. It is what makes life so precious, in the same way pain is purposeful because we wouldn’t know joy without it.”
Watch Molly Shannon recall the time Courtney Love confronted her above, and the comedian as the rocker on SNL below.
Days after country singer Travis Tritt said he would be banning Anheuser-Busch beverages from his backstage hospitality riders, The Offspring guitarist Noodles responded by announcing that the veteran punk act is doubling down on the Bud products.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“We are going to be adding Anheiser-Busch products & Jack Daniels to our hospitality rider just to piss off a bunch of dimwitted bigots who fear what they don’t understand,” wrote the 60-year-old guitarist born Kevin John Wasserman. “I know a s–t-ton of artists who feel exactly the same. (And we all drink A LOT).”
Noodles retweeted Tritt’s original post, in which he announced that he’d be “deleting” all Anheuser-Busch products going forward, adding, “I know many other artists who are doing the same.” Tritt’s action came after backlash against the brand — whose products include Budweiser, Bud Light, Michelob, Rolling Rock, Busch, Shock Top and many more — for teaming up with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney in a March Madness campaign. Trans singer Laura Jane Grace responded to Tritt’s tweet by turning around a frequent right-wing insult against liberals on the 60-year-old country act, “Snowflake,” they wrote.
Tritt’s announcement came after MAGA-hat wearing rapper-turned-country singer Kid Rock opened fire on cases of Bud Light with a military-style assault rifle while announcing, “f– Bud Light and f–k Anheuser-Busch.”
While neither Tritt nor Rock specifically referred to Mulvaney or AB’s partnership with the TikTok star, the “Foolish Pride” country singer’s run of tweets about breaking up with AB also included his posting of a Jack Daniel’s ad featuring a trio of drag performers (BeBe Zahara Benet, Trinity Taylor and Manila Luzon) as part of the brand’s pact with RuPaul’s Drag Race alums on the “Drag Queen Summer Glamp” campaign.
“All the @JackDaniels_US drinkers should take note,” Tritt wrote while noting that he was on a a Bud-sponsored tour in the 1990s while lamenting the brand’s merger with Belgian beverage giant InBev in 2004.
In a statement to Billboard, Jack Daniel’s stood by its Glamp campaign and its support for the queer and trans communities. “Jack Daniel’s is made with everyone in mind, including the LGBTQ+ community,” a spokesperson said. “As a longtime champion of the LGBTQ+ community, Jack Daniel’s celebrates individuality and living life boldly on your own terms.”
As previously reported, AB did not respond to a request for comment regarding Tritt’s tweets, but in a previous statement shared with Billboard the brand also stood by its inclusive stance. “Anheuser-Busch works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics,” a spokesperson said. Tritt has declined Billboard‘s request for further comment.
See Noodles’ tweet below.
We are going to be adding Anheiser-Busch products & Jack Daniels to our hospitality rider just to piss off a bunch of dimwitted bigots who fear what they don’t understand. I know a shit-ton of artists who feel exactly the same. (And we all drink A LOT) https://t.co/z94xPnobVi— Noodles (@TheGnudz) April 6, 2023