nsfs
Page: 40
Canadian musician K’naan has been charged with sexual assault. A charge sheet was filed this morning (Sept. 26) in Quebec City for the musician and director, born Keinan Abdi Warsame, for a count of sexual assault dating back to 2010, The Canadian Press reports. The arrest warrant alleges that the assault took place between July 16 and 17 […]
Amid election season, Bad Bunny is making sure that the more than three million residents living in Puerto Rico know his political stance.
In a Sept. 24 tweet, the Puerto Rican artist shared a set of photos of billboards across San Juan that read: “To vote for PNP is to vote for corruption,” “Who votes for PNP doesn’t love Puerto Rico” and “Voting for PNP is voting for LUMA.” The latter of the three is a private energy company responsible for power distribution and transmission on the island.
“Announcements paid by Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio,” he captioned the post. “A Puerto Rican who does love Puerto Rico.”
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Billboard has reached out to Bad Bunny’s rep for comment.
Trending on Billboard
The billboards are in protest of the Partido Nuevo Progresista (New Progressive Party), one of the major political parties in Puerto Rico that traces back to 1967 and currently holds both the seat of the governor and of the resident commissioner.
The powerful PSAs also come on the heels of Bad Bunny’s latest song, “Una Velita,” in which he reflects on the devastating aftermath of the Category 5 Hurricane Maria that occurred in 2017. “There were five thousand that they let die, and we will never forget that,” he chants in the track.
“Obviously the light will go out, God knows if it’ll come back,” he continues over an intense folkloric beat. “The bridge they took so long to build, the growing river will break. A few songs on the phone for when the reception goes out. The sign was sent and they don’t want to see it, it’s up to the Boricua to want to wake up … Remember that we’re all from here, the people will have to save its pueblo.”
Always passionate and vocal about the social issues that affect the Puerto Rican community, in 2022, Benito also released a 23-minute-long documentary for “El Apagón” in which he addresses blackouts and gentrification, among other topics, taking aim at the local government for its inaction.
Macklemore‘s “f–k America!” chant has drawn condemnation from a trio of the Seattle-bred MC’s hometown sports franchises. According to Fox 13 Seattle, The MLB’s Seattle Mariners have joined the NHL’s Seattle Kraken and MLS’ Seattle Sounders FC in calling out the “Thrift Shop” rapper for controversial comments he made at last weekend’s Palestine Will Live Forever concert in the city.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“We are aware of the incident and agree with the other teams in town: Sports and music should connect, not divide us,” Mariners vice president of communication Tim Hevly reportedly said in a statement to the station. “We continue to monitor and research latest developments.”
Macklemore performed a new song at the event, “Hind’s Hall 2,” the sequel to his May song of the same name whose proceeds are meant to help the United Nations Relief and Words Agency (UNRWA), which provides assistance to Palestinian refugees. “Straight up, say it, I’m not gonna stop you,” Macklemore told the crowd in fan video from the show. “I’m not gonna stop you… yeah, f–k America.”
On Tuesday, Macklemore was dropped from the Las Vegas Neon City Festival lineup with no reason given for the scratch. In a lengthy statement on Wednesday, Macklemore — who has been a loud supporter of the Palestinian people in the midst of the yearlong war sparked by Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel — explained his mindset at the show.
“Unfortunately, the historic event in my hometown that brought thousands of people together to raise awareness and money for the people of Palestine has become overshadowed by two words,” he said, adding that he hasn’t been “OK” in the months since the Israel-Hamas war broke out after the militant group’s murder of more than 1,200 Israelis and kidnapping of more than 250 others. ”I have been in utter disbelief with how our government is showing up at this moment in history. I don’t think I’m alone. Some days I don’t know how to love something that is hurting others so much. I don’t think I’m alone.”
In the wake of Hamas’ surprise attack almost a year ago, Israel has waged a relentless bombing campaign on Gaza that Palestinian health authorities say has killed more than 41,000 people and driven most of its two million-plus residents from their homes; Israel recently opened a second front in the war in Lebanon, where attacks on the Iranian proxy group Hezbollah this week have already killed more than 500 as the Pentagon fears a potential Israeli ground invasion that could lead to a devastating regional war.
Macklemore’s 2012 song “Can’t Hold Us” has been a staple of the seventh-inning stretch at Mariners games and the statement from Hevly comes after the Sounders and Kraken also distanced themselves from the rapper earlier this week; Macklemore and his wive, Tricia Davis, are among the minority co-owners of the Sounders and the Kraken.
“We believe that sports bring people together and unite us. We are aware of Macklemore’s increasingly divisive comments, and they do not reflect the values of our respective ownership groups, leagues, or organizations,” the Sounders and Kraken said in a joint statement on Monday. According to Fox 13, as the backlash over the comment continues to build, the Mariners, Kraken and Sounders are “evaluating their next steps regarding his involvement with their respective organizations.”
At press time a spokesperson for Macklemore had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment.
With Sean “Diddy” Combs sitting in jail on federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges, he faces an uncertain path ahead in the immediate future — with unresolved issues over his detainment and how quickly he’ll face trial.
Combs, who was arrested and charged last week, stands accused of sweeping criminal wrongdoing, including physical abuse, forced labor, kidnapping, arson and bribery. If convicted on all the charges, he potentially faces a sentence of life in prison.
After Judge Andrew L. Carter denied him bail on the grounds that Combs posed a flight risk and might intimidate witnesses, the music mogul’s lead attorney Marc Agnifilo suggested he would appeal that ruling to a federal appeals court. But he has not yet filed that appeal, and such a challenge faces long odds.
Until then, Combs will likely remain at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn — a federal correctional facility that has long been criticized for danger and dysfunction. In July, one of New York’s U.S. Congressmen called for an investigation, citing “chronic understaffing, perpetual solitary confinement and widespread violence.” Last month, a federal judge criticized “dangerous, barbaric conditions” at the facility.
In court filings, Agnifilo has called the MDC “horrific” and “not fit for pre-trial detention,” and he suggested at last week’s bail hearing that he would seek to have Combs transferred elsewhere. But Judge Carter told him that decisions on pre-trial jail placement were not within his purview, and in a court filing on Monday, Agnifilo declined to formally ask the judge for a change in jails.
How long will the embattled mogul be waiting at MDC? That depends on when his trial takes place, which is a harder thing to predict than you might think.
Anyone accused of a crime in the U.S. has a constitutional right to a speedy trial, which in federal cases means a jury trial must start within 70 days. Defendants often waive that right to give their attorneys more time to prepare a defense, since prosecutors usually have a head start. But Agnifilo declined to do so last week, saying he was “going to do everything I can to move his case as quickly as possible.”
“I’m going to try and minimize the amount of time he spends in very, very difficult and, I believe, inhumane housing conditions,” Agnifilo said at a press conference on Wednesday.
The demand for a speedy trial suggests that Diddy’s legal team believes there is more advantage to be gained from forcing prosecutors to quickly put their case before a jury, rather than spending more time preparing themselves or attacking the charges with pre-trial motions. The move could allow the government less time to find additional witnesses, and less time to sift through huge amounts of digital records and other evidence. “They’re going to have to accommodate me and him and give us a quick trial, and I’m going to be pushing for that,” Agnifilo said.
But prosecutors can, and very likely will, seek to slow down that timetable.
Under speedy trial rules, the judge can “exclude” certain time from the 70-day timer for a wide variety of reasons. Already, Judge Carter has said in court orders that he will exclude several weeks of time — starting with the Sept. 18 bail hearing and running to the next hearing next month — “in the interest of justice.” The next court date is a status conference currently scheduled for Oct. 9.
Another cause for delay would be if prosecutors filed so-called superseding indictments — an updated version of the case against Diddy. Such a filing could simply add new charges against Diddy based on newly-discovered evidence or testimony, or it could add new defendants to the case — not an unlikely outcome in a case that repeatedly references unnamed co-conspirators in Diddy’s alleged criminal enterprise.
At a press conference announcing the charges, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams suggested that could be exactly what prosecutors are planning. “I can’t take anything off the table,” Williams said. “Anything is possible. Our investigation is very active and ongoing.”
Don’t expect to see Lance Bass‘ name on the list of celebrities who’ve attended one of Sean “P. Diddy” Combs’ parties. The former *NSYNC singer and solo star told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live on Wednesday night (Sept. 25) that after hearing something the disgraced Bad Boy mogul said when Diddy opened for *NSYNC on the group’s final tour in 2002 he had no interest in spending time with Combs.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“I never had time to go to a Diddy party,” said Bass, who added that he’d totally forgotten that Diddy had warmed up the stage for *NSYNC until the rapper/producer was arrested in New York on Sept. 16 and accused by prosecutors of operating a criminal enterprise centered on his “pervasive pattern of abuse toward women.” Diddy was been denied bail twice while awaiting trial on the three felony charges of sex trafficking and racketeering that could land him a life sentence.
“It’s kinda horrible, but never kinda liked him because the very last show in Orlando I overheard him talking to Justin [Timberlake] being like, ‘You need to drop these… effers! You need to go solo! And I was like, ‘I don’t like you anymore Diddy.’ I’m like, ‘at my own show? What the hell?’” said Bass.
Trending on Billboard
Timberlake did, of course, go out on his own after *NSYNC went on hiatus in 2002 and has released six solo albums to date, including this year’s Everything I Thought It Was.
Diddy was hit with another civil sexual abuse lawsuit this week from Thalia Graves, who claimed that Combs and his head of security, Joseph Sherman, drugged and repeatedly sexually abused her at Diddy’s New York City studio in 2001 and filmed the attack, which they allegedly then showed to others. Combs, who has denied all the allegations, has been hit with at least nine other similar civil suits over the past year, with each one accusing him of sexual abuse and other wrongdoing.
The Diddy story was ironic because elsewhere in the interview, Bass was asked by a caller about rumors of a possible *NSYNC reunion tour. “I can finally say we’re in talks right now, we’re actually talking,” Bass said to wild applause about the possibility that he will once again hit the stage with Timberlake, JC Chasez, Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick.
He added that the renewed interest has been sparked by the beloved boy band’s studio reunion last year for the Trolls Band Together soundtrack song “Better Place” — and Timberlake’s EITIW album track “Paradise” — as well as the catalog bump for the band thanks to the inclusion of the *NSYNC classic “Bye Bye Bye” in the opening credits sequence of Deadpool & Wolverine.
“We’d be stupid not to do something… just hold your breath just a little longer,” Bass teased. “It’s gonna take a little time, but I think something’s coming.”
Watch Bass talk Diddy and potential *NSYNC reunion tour below.
Alejandro Fernández is setting the record straight over a “false” Latinos for Donald Trump ad that features a photo of his father, the late legendary Vicente Fernández, stamped on it. On Thursday (Sept. 26), the Mexican star slammed the advertisement on social media, while also reminding his millions of followers the values his father stood for.
“My father was not only the best representative of Mexican music and culture, but he was also a fervent defender of the dignity and rights of our countrymen around the world,” he wrote in Spanish.
“Vicente Fernandez would never have supported a politician who denigrates Mexicans and mistreats migrants. During all the tours I did with my father, and the ones I continue to do now in the United States, we were able to confirm that our fellow countrymen are the lifeblood of this country,” he continued. “Mexicans who are characterized by being honest, hardworking and dignified human beings who are looking for better opportunities to help their families. People who do not deserve to be mistreated or discriminated against. We should not allow anyone to underestimate us by saying that we are criminals, murderers, rapists and thieves.”
Trending on Billboard
During the 2016 presidential election, Trump kicked off his presidential bid by insulting Mexican immigrants, saying, “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
Following his then and now infamous remarks about the Mexican community, a number of artists, including Vicente Fernández — who died in 2021 — expressed their support for presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, endorsing her through a corrido. Meanwhile, during the 2020 presidential election, Alejandro Fernández’s “Decepciones” soundtracked a Joe Biden ad that aired in Arizona.
This time around, the “Nube Viajera” singer isn’t directly endorsing a candidate, but asks that those eligible to vote in the upcoming Nov. 5 election do what’s right for them and their families. “It is not my intention to recommend or endorse any candidate or party, but on behalf of myself, my children and the memory of my father, we ask you to reason your vote and think about what is best for you, your families and the rest of the Mexicans and Latinos who, like you, have migrated in search of a better life.”
Read his post below:
Sean “Diddy” Combs is the subject of the new episode of Impact x Nightline: Drugs Lies & ‘Freak Offs,’ which will dive into the allegations of sexual assault and abuse made against him, as well as the recent federal charges for racketeering and sex trafficking that the hip-hop mogul is facing.
In a new preview clip shared exclusively with Billboard, Lizzette Martinez, who is a survivor of R. Kelly’s abuse, shares her experience meeting Diddy in the late 1990s. “He’s like, ‘Hey, you have really pretty eyes.’ And said, ‘Hey, I’m having a party. You want to come with me?’” she recalls in the clip. “I didn’t have a good feeling about it and I just declined. Thinking about it now, it’s like, ‘Wow, I really dodged a bullet.’”
The disgraced R&B singer (real name Robert Sylvester Kelly) is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence after he was convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking charges in 2021. In 2022, he was also convicted of six counts of child pornography and enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity.
Martinez noted that she thought R. Kelly and Diddy are “a lot alike,” claiming that they are both “predators” who like to manipulate. She continued, “They’re dangling a career in front of you. They use the power to get you to where they want you.”
Billboard has reached out to reps for Diddy for comment. The music mogul — who has previously denied all allegations of sexual assault and abuse made against him — has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He was denied bail twice, and is currently awaiting trial behind bars. After his arrest, his lawyer told Billboard in a statement: ” We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. … He is an imperfect person but he is not a criminal.”
Impact x Nightline: Drugs Lies & ‘Freak Offs’ will also feature an interview with Tiffany Red, a producer and songwriter who is friends with Diddy’s ex-partner Cassie Ventura, who filed a now-settled lawsuit against Diddy in November accusing the mogul of assault. She was also seen in a 2016 video obtained by CNN, in which Combs appears to shove Ventura to the ground near an elevator bank, kick her several times while she lies on the ground and drag her down a hallway.
“I can’t unsee that Cassie video,” Martinez says of the clip, while getting emotional. “You can tell me whatever you want about him, but I can’t unsee that video. She helped others to feel like they can come forward and that’s huge, because you put yourself on the line.”
Impact x Nightline: Drugs Lies & ‘Freak Offs’ begins streaming on Thursday (Sept. 26) on Hulu. Watch the preview clip featuring Martinez below.
50 Cent’s upcoming documentary surrounding Diddy’s history of alleged sexual abuse is coming to Netflix.
Per Variety, the doc produced by the G-Unit mogul is currently in production and will call the streaming giant home, with Alexandria Stapleton directing. The untitled work will center around Sean Combs’ sexual assault and abuse allegations, and also tie in his recent federal charges for racketeering and sex trafficking.
“This is a story with significant human impact. It is a complex narrative spanning decades, not just the headlines or clips seen so far,” 50 and Stapleton relayed in a joint statement to Variety on Wednesday (Sept. 25). “We remain steadfast in our commitment to give a voice to the voiceless and to present authentic and nuanced perspectives.”
They continued: “While the allegations are disturbing, we urge all to remember that Sean Combs’ story is not the full story of hip-hop and its culture. We aim to ensure that individual actions do not overshadow the culture’s broader contributions.”
50’s G-Unit Film & Television division will executive produce the documentary, while Stapleton is on board to helm the project and also produce through her company House of Nonfiction.
The documentary does not yet have a release date time frame or details regarding how many parts it will include.
50 originally announced plans for the doc about Diddy in December following a bombshell lawsuit filed by the Bad Boy CEO’s ex Cassie a month prior.
A spokesperson for 50 Cent confirmed to Billboard in December that proceeds received by 50’s G-Unit Film & Television division from the project will go toward helping victims of sexual assault and rape.
50’s been relentless in his trolling of Diddy for months even prior to the music mogul being indicted. “I been telling y’all about all this weird s–t, I don’t do NO puffy party’s. you didn’t believe me but I bet you believe me now,” he wrote on social media Wednesday alongside his announcement of the doc coming to Netflix.
He didn’t stop there when jabbing his longtime rival. The Queens legend posted a Photoshopped picture on Instagram of baby oil, which he rebranded to a bottle of “Diddy Oil.” Investigators reportedly seized more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant when raiding Diddy’s L.A. and Miami homes earlier this year, according to the Associated Press.
Sean Combs was arrested on Sept. 17 in NYC and has since been denied bond twice. Diddy will remain in prison until his trial. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Find 50’s posts below.
Warning: This story contains mentions of suicide.
Lisa Marie Presley‘s death at 53 last year was attributed to a small-bowel obstruction the only child of Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley suffered several years after weight loss-related bariatric surgery. But in a new interview with People magazine, Presley’s daughter, Daisy Jones & the Six star actress Riley Keough, said her mother’s passing was also due to a heavy emotional burden she carried.
Keough said that her brother Benjamin’s death by suicide in 2020 at age 27 had a profound effect on Presley. “My mom tried her best to find strength for me and my younger sisters after Ben died, but we knew how much pain she was in,” said Keough, 35, of Presley, who in addition to sharing Riley and Benjamin with ex-husband Danny Keough also had 15-year-old twins Finely and Harper with ex Michael Lockwood.
“My mom physically died from the after effects of her surgery, but we all knew she died of a broken heart,” said Keough. The People interview is packaged with an excerpt from Lisa Marie’s posthumous memoir, From Here to the Great Unknown, which is due out on Oct. 8. Presley had begun work on the autobiography before her death, with Keough stepping in to finish the book by listening to the hours of tape her mother had recorded before putting her stories into print.
“This extraordinary book is composed of both Lisa Marie’s and Riley’s voice, a mother and daughter communicating across the transom of death as they try to heal each other,” reads a press release about the book. “Profoundly moving and deeply revealing, From Here to the Great Unknown is a book like no other — the last words of the only child of a true legend.”
According to People, in the memoir Presley — who had previously told the magazine that she would never “move on” from her son’s death — says she and Keough healed their broken hearts by “helping people. One kid wrote to Riley and said, ‘I didn’t kill myself last night because of what you said it would do to my family and those that are left behind. So thank you.’ That helped me. That brought me up.’” Keough said that her brother’s death was “incredibly difficult to write about, as was my mom’s descent into addiction. And her own death, of course.”
The actress cautioned that the book is not strictly about grief, but also about the “very human experience of love, heartbreak, loss, addiction and family. [My mom] wanted to write a book in the hopes that someone could read her story and relate to her, to know that they’re not alone in the world. Her hope with this book was just human connection. So that’s mine.”
Keough will discuss the book in an upcoming Oprah Winfrey special from Elvis’ Graceland, An Oprah Special: The Presleys – Elvis, Lisa Marie and Riley, that will air on CBS and Paramount+ on Oct. 8.
Chappell Roan is making her position as clear as possible, once and for all. In a new TikTok video posted Wednesday (Sept. 25), the “Good Luck, Babe” singer offered one final explanation for her stance on the upcoming presidential election.
In the clip, Roan says while she will be voting for Kamala Harris to become the next president of the United States, she will not endorse the vice president since she does not support some of her policies. “I’m voting for f–king Kamala,” she said in her video. “But I’m not settling for what has been offered, because that’s questionable.”
The new clip comes after a quote Roan gave to The Guardian went viral, in which she said that she didn’t “feel pressured” to endorse a candidate in the 2024 election because “there’s problems on both sides.” Many of the singer’s fans criticized her take, saying that former president Donald Trump and the Republican Party posed a much greater threat to the country than Harris or the Democrats.
While Roan addressed the lack of context in the quote in a TikTok posted on Tuesday evening (Sept. 24), she started her new video saying that she “woke up … to people skewing it even more” and made it abundantly clear why she would not endorse any candidate.
“Obviously, f–k the policies of the right — but also, f–k some of the policies on the left! That’s why I can’t endorse,” she said. “There is no way I can stand behind some of the left’s completely transphobic and completely genocidal views … F–k Trump, for f–king real, but f–k some of the s–t that has gone down in the Democratic Party that has failed people like me and you, and more so Palestine, and more so every marginalized community in the world.”
Roan also went on to explain that “endorsing and voting are not the same thing,” which is why she said that she would be casting her vote for Harris. “Actions speak louder than words,” she said. “Voting is all we have right now in this system, so I encourage it, yet again. Vote for who, in your mind, is the best option for what we have right now, because it’s all we can do. Yes, one’s obviously better than the other. But Jesus f–king Christ, I hope you don’t have to settle for what we have and put your name behind someone that you don’t fully, fully trust because of their blatant actions.”
Over the last few months, Roan has explained on multiple occasions that she does not support the Biden administration’s support and funding of Israel’s continued attacks on Gaza and the Palestinian people. During her set at Governors Ball in June, the singer said that she turned down an invite to perform at the White House for Pride Month because “we want liberty, freedom and justice for all.” In her cover story for Rolling Stone, she went on to explain that she originally planned to accept the invitation and read Palestinian poetry instead of performing as an act of protest.
Elsewhere in that interview, Roan also explained that she would be using her vote in 2024 to “protect people’s civil rights, especially the LGBTQ+ community,” while adding that she felt “lucky to be alive during an incredibly historical time period when a woman of color is a presidential nominee.”
For those hoping that the singer would even further explain her thinking on this issue, Roan made it clear in the caption of her TikTok video that this will be her last statement on the matter. “Im done talking about it. If you dont get what im saying from this, its a lost cause,” she wrote. “And im not forcing you to agree with me. This is my statement. Have a good day.”
Watch Chappell Roan’s TikTok video below: