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Jimmy Kimmel is calling out Kanye West after the rappers string of hate speech over the past week. During the monologue kicking off his late night talk show on Wednesday night (Feb. 12), Kimmel called Ye a “Nazi.” He added, “In the wake of his antisemitic spinout this weekend, Adolf Twitler was cut by his […]
Macklemore is once again criticizing the United States government, this time taking President Donald Trump and Elon Musk to task in a scorching new protest song titled “F–ked Up.”
In the track posted to his YouTube channel Wednesday (Feb. 12), the rapper weaves his way through verses connecting racial injustice in America to the twice-impeached POTUS’ administration, which now includes the Tesla billionaire. Macklemore also calls out the United States’ financial support of Israel throughout the country’s ongoing war against Hamas, a conflict that has killed at least 45,000 Palestinians between the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks — which left more than 1,200 Israelis dead and about 240 people taken hostage — and the temporary ceasefire the two sides reached in January.
“New era ushered, but white supremacy is still in charge/ Talking colonizing Gaza from the White House lawn/ But the people mobbing, and we ain’t backing off/ Finally see the oligarchy and the men that control us all,” the Washington native spits over a dark, intense beat. “Tax breaks for the elite and then they taxing y’all/ Killing Palestinian kids and we getting hit with the cost.”
Macklemore paired the song with a video compiling footage of American and Palestinian protestors, including a clip of the rogue dancer who waved a combination Palestine-Sudan flag during Kendrick Lamar’s 2025 Super Bowl Halftime Show Sunday (Feb. 9). It also shows numerous clips of Trump, Musk and fellow billionaires Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos corresponding with lyrics about rich men in power suppressing the American people.
One clip the music video repeatedly comes back to is of the X CEO doing a Nazi-like salute at one of Trump’s inauguration events in January. “They got us f–ked up,” Macklemore rages in the song’s chorus. “And Elon, we know exactly what that was, bruh.”
Billboard has reached out to reps for the White House, Musk, Zuckerberg and Bezos for comment.
“F–ked Up” is just the latest protest song the hip-hop star — who has been vocal in both his support of Palestine and his disappointment in the U.S. government — has released in the past year. In May 2024, he ripped into then-president Joe Biden while advocating for Gaza on a track titled “Hind’s Hall,” the proceeds of which went to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency’s assistance and protection programs for Palestinian refugees. The following September, he dropped a sequel to the song with assists from Gazan rapper MC Abdul and Palestinian-American singer Anees, featuring the chant, “From the river to the sea/ Palestine will be free.” (The American Jewish Committee has deemed the phrase antisemitic.)
When Macklemore performed “Hind’s Hall 2” that month at Seattle’s Palestine Will Live Forever Festival, he also led the crowd in a “F–k America” chant, after which Las Vegas’ 2024 Neon City Festival dropped him from its lineup. Later, the “Thrift Shop” hitmaker said in a statement, “My thoughts and feelings are not always expressed perfectly or politely. Sometimes I slip up and get caught in the moment.”
“I’ve slipped in front of the world before,” he continued at the time. “I’m sure I’ll do it again. But they will not silence my voice, and they will not close my heart. I’ve lost endorsements, I’ve lost shows, I’ve lost business ties. I am still here, unwavering in my support for a Free Palestine.”
A Manhattan federal judge has tossed out a sexual assault lawsuit against Russell Simmons on grounds that he now lives in Indonesia, but legal problems still abound for the Def Jam co-founder.
In a decision issued Tuesday, Judge John Koeltl ruled that Simmons had shown by “clear and convincing evidence” that he is now a permanent resident of the Indonesian island of Bali, meaning his federal court lacked required form of jurisdiction to hear the case.
The ruling is a setback for the unnamed Jane Doe plaintiff, who sued Simmons last year over accusations that he raped her in the 1990s while she served as an executive at Def Jam. But the case can likely be re-filed in state court, where it would potentially not face the same issues.
In a statement to Billboard on Thursday, her attorneys vowed to do so – claiming Simmons was trying to “dodge accountability for his reprehensible behavior and escape litigation on procedural grounds.”
“From the beginning of this case, Simmons has claimed to be a stateless citizen domiciled in Bali, despite building his life and career in New York and taking advantage of his clear ties to the state when it benefits him,” said Kenya Davis, a lawyer at the firm Boies Schiller Flexner. “Our plaintiff is not deterred by this gamesmanship. We respect the judge’s decision, and we will see Mr. Simmons in New York state court.”
In his own statement, an attorney for Simmons praised the judge’s decision to dismiss the case: “Our justice system is based on rules and procedures,” said David Fish an attorney at the law firm Romano Law. “We are pleased that the court followed the rules of civil procedure and case law related to who can be brought into court.”
Asked about whether the case would continue in state court, Fish said: “I can’t predict what plaintiff’s counsel will do going forward.”
Simmons, who founded Def Jam Recordings in 1984 and later built a formidable hip hop empire, has faced a slew of abuse allegations since 2017 — first in an investigative article by the New York Times, then in a 2020 documentary film that featured interviews with numerous alleged victims.
Last year, Simmons was hit with two lawsuits over such claims. The first came from the Jane Doe at the center of this week’s ruling, who says that she was serving as a successful music video producer when she was “sexually harassed, assaulted, sexually battered, and raped by her boss.”
The other case came from Drew Dixon, a former A&R at Def Jam who accused Simmons of rape in both the Times article and the documentary. In her February 2024 lawsuit, Dixon accused Simmons of defaming her by suggesting during an interview that she was lying about the incident.
That case remains pending. Simmons had moved to dismiss Dixon’s lawsuit at the outset on free speech grounds, but that request was denied by a judge last week, sending the case toward more litigation and an eventual trial.
Simmons also faces additional litigation from three other accusers — Tina Klein-Baker, Toni Sallie and Alexia Norton Jones – who alleged in New York court filings last month that the hip hop mogul had reneged on confidential settlements that separately required him to pay them a total of nearly $8 million.
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.”
R. Kelly’s racketeering and sex trafficking convictions, along with a 30-year prison sentence, were upheld Wednesday by a federal appeals court that concluded the singer exploited his fame for over a quarter century to sexually abuse girls and young women.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled Wednesday after hearing arguments last March.
The Grammy-winning, multiplatinum-selling R&B songwriter was convicted in 2021 in Brooklyn federal court of multiple charges, including racketeering and sex trafficking.
Attorney Jennifer Bonjean, representing R. Kelly, said in a statement that she believed the Supreme Court will agree to hear an appeal. She called the 2nd Circuit ruling “unprecedented,” saying it gives prosecutors limitless discretion to apply the racketeering law “to situations absurdly remote” from the statute’s intent.
Last year, the high court declined to hear an appeal of a 20-year sentence Kelly received after he was convicted in 2022 of child sex charges including charges of producing images of child sexual abuse in Chicago.
The 2nd Circuit rejected Kelly’s arguments that the trial evidence was inadequate, the constitutionality of some state laws used against him were questionable, four jurors were biased, the trial judge made some improper rulings and a racketeering charge more commonly used in organized crime cases was improper.
“Enabled by a constellation of managers, assistants, and other staff for over twenty-five years, Kelly exploited his fame to lure girls and young women into his grasp,” the appeals court said, noting members of his entourage helped introduce him to underage girls.
“Evidence at trial showed that he would isolate them from friends and family, control nearly every aspect of their lives, and abuse them verbally, physically, and sexually,” the three-judge panel said.
The appeals court said it was “neither arbitrary nor irrational” that several accusers were permitted to testify at trial that Kelly gave them herpes without disclosing he had an STD, and it was not unduly prejudicial or cumulative that seven witnesses who were not yet adults when Kelly began to abuse them were allowed to testify.
“None of the testimony was more inflammatory than the charged acts,” the appeals court said.
The 2nd Circuit also said it was not unfairly prejudicial for the trial judge to let jurors view graphic videos. The videos, the appeals court said, “were properly admitted to show the means and methods of the enterprise, including the level of control and dominance Kelly had over his victims.”
Bonjean, in her statement on R. Kelly’s behalf, also cited a partial dissent in which one 2nd Circuit judge, Richard J. Sullivan, concurred with what he described as the majority’s “excellent opinion,” but dissented in part over a restitution award given one victim for a lifetime supply of a suppressive regime of herpes medication. The award was based on the cost of the brand-name drug when a generic drug is available.
“This was not restitution. This was an effort by the government to unfairly enrich government witnesses for their testimony,” Bonjean said.
Kelly, born Robert Sylvester Kelly, is known for work including the 1996 hit “I Believe I Can Fly” and the cult classic “Trapped in the Closet,” a multipart tale of sexual betrayal and intrigue.
Kelly sold millions of albums and remained in demand even after allegations about his abuse of young girls began circulating publicly in the 1990s. He was acquitted of child sexual abuse image charges in Chicago in 2008, but a second trial in Chicago in 2022 ended with his conviction on charges of producing images of child sexual abuse and enticing girls for sex.
Widespread outrage over Kelly’s sexual misconduct did not emerge until the #MeToo reckoning, reaching a crescendo after the release of the documentary “Surviving R. Kelly.”
This story was originally published by The Associated Press.
Sean “Diddy” Combs filed a lawsuit on Wednesday (Feb. 12) against NBCUniversal, claiming the company defamed him with the Peacock documentary Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy.
According to documents filed in New York state court, Combs’ lawsuit claims the documentary — which debuted on Peacock in January — knowingly defamed him by making false murder and sex trafficking allegations, among other claims, which his attorneys say there is no credible evidence to support.
“The entire premise of the Documentary assumes that Mr. Combs has committed numerous heinous crimes, including serial murder, rape of minors, and sex trafficking of minors, and attempts to crudely psychologize him,” the lawsuit reads. “It maliciously and baselessly jumps to the conclusion that Mr. Combs is a ‘monster’ and ‘an embodiment of Lucifer’ with ‘a lot of similarities’ to Jeffrey Epstein.”
According to the lawsuit, the documentary “maliciously” claims that Diddy played a role in the deaths of his ex-wife Kim Porter, Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace and Dwight “Heavy D” Myers.
The documentary “shamelessly advances conspiracy theories that lack any foundation in reality,” the suit adds, “repeatedly insinuating that Mr. Combs is a serial killer because it cannot be a ‘coincidence’ that multiple people in Mr. Combs’s orbit have died.”
Combs is seeking $100 million in damages from the multimedia giant.
“As described in today’s lawsuit, NBCUniversal Media, LLC, Peacock TV, LLC, and Ample LLC made a conscious decision to line their own pockets at the expense of truth, decency, and basic standards of professional journalism,” Diddy’s attorney, Erica Wolff, said in a statement. “Grossly exploiting the trust of their audience and racing to outdo their competition for the most salacious Diddy exposé, Defendants maliciously and recklessly broadcast outrageous lies in Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy.”
Wolff continued: “In the purported documentary, Defendants accuse Mr. Combs of horrible crimes, including serial murder and sexual assault of minors — knowing that there is no evidence to support them. In making and broadcasting these falsehoods, among others, Defendants seek only to capitalize on the public’s appetite for scandal without any regard for the truth and at the expense of Mr. Combs’s right to a fair trial. Mr. Combs brings this lawsuit to hold Defendants accountable for the extraordinary damage their reckless statements have caused.”
Billboard has reached out to NBCUniversal for comment.
Combs has remained behind bars since his arrest in September on sex trafficking and racketeering charges. He’s accused of being the face of a multi-faceted criminal enterprise with the goal of satisfying his sexual fantasies, including by hosting so-called “freak-off” parties. The disgraced hip-hop mogul has repeatedly been denied bail and will stay in the custody of Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center until his trial begins on May 5. He faces life in prison if convicted on all charges. In addition to his criminal case, Combs has been hit with dozens of lawsuits alleging sexual assault and other crimes.
Ty Dolla $ign has released a statement condemning all forms of hate speech. The California artist took to his Instagram Story on Tuesday preaching a message of unity and love. “I do not condone ANY form of hate speech against ANYONE,” he wrote alongside different skin tones of emojis. Dolla $ign didn’t name-drop Ye — […]
Lyor Cohen, YouTube’s global head of music and the former president at Def Jam Recordings, head of Warner Music Group’s recorded music division and founder of 300 Entertainment, has penned an urgent open letter to Ye — formerly known as Kanye West — imploring him to stop using antisemitic rhetoric and other actions following a […]
Ye (formerly Kanye West) is facing a lawsuit from a former employee who says the rapper compared himself to Hitler and threatened her because she is Jewish.
The case, filed Tuesday (Feb. 11) in Los Angeles court, claims he subjected the unnamed woman to “antisemitic vitriol,” including texting her “Hail Hitler” and calling her “ugly” and a “bitch.” And the woman says she was “swiftly terminated” when she complained.
“Ye carried out a calculated campaign to threaten and psychologically torment Jewish people around him, specifically plaintiff,” the woman’s lawyers wrote. “There can be little doubt that Ye treats those around him, especially Jewish people and women, much worse than just a bully. He is a self-proclaimed ‘Nazi’.”
The Jane Doe accuses Ye and his Yeezy LLC of religious and gender discrimination, wrongful termination, breach of contract, and a variety of other legal wrongdoing.
The new lawsuit, one of many filed by former employees against Ye, came days after he went on an offensive tirade on X (formerly Twitter) that included antisemitic comments (“I’m a Nazi” and praise for Adolf Hitler) as well as a bizarre demand to free Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is currently in custody awaiting trial on sex crime charges. On Sunday, Ye ran a TV ad during the Super Bowl that directed viewers to an online store where they could purchase a shirt emblazoned with a swastika.
It was hardly the first time the rapper has made such statements. After a string of similar antisemitic rhetoric and other erratic behavior in October 2022, the star lost much of what was a once-formidable business empire, including fashion partnerships with Adidas, The Gap and Balenciaga, as well as his representation by Creative Artists Agency and many of his lawyers.
In Tuesday’s lawsuit, the Jane Doe plaintiff says she was hired at Ye’s Yeezy LLC as a marketing specialist in December 2023, shortly before he issued an apology (written in Hebrew) for those earlier antisemitic statements. But she says the apologetic sentiment was “short lived.”
A month later, amid renewed controversy over the cover art of his Vultures Vol. 1, the woman claims she suggested that Ye issue a statement condemning Nazism. When the message was relayed to the star himself, he allegedly responded with a text message (included in the lawsuit) reading “I Am A Nazi.”
“This not only deeply offended Doe but the loud and proud antisemitism also made her feel endangered,” her attorneys wrote.
Months later, the rapper allegedly texted her and another Jewish employee “What the fuck is everyone here getting paid?” In another screenshotted text, he allegedly followed up: “Welcome to the first day of working for Hitler.”
The abuse allegedly escalated from there, the lawsuit says, including a series of texts in June 2024 in which Ye allegedly said “Shut the f— up b—-” called her “ugly as f—” and texted “Hail Hitler.” Later, he also allegedly texted, “You what’s left after I said deathcon” — a message that Jane Doe says was intended to reference his previous antisemitic rants and meant as a threat based on her religion.
Just hours after she complained about the text messages to her manager, the lawsuit says she was sent an email from an attorney representing Yeezy terminating her employment.
A spokesman for Ye did not immediately return a request for comment on Tuesday (Feb. 11).
Ye — formerly known as Kanye West — has been dropped by his talent agency 33 & West after the Vultures rapper went on another anti-semitic rant on X. Ye had been with the independent talent agency for about a year before his agent Daniel McCartney took to Instagram Stories on Monday (Feb. 10) to […]