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Chris Brown was arrested at his hotel in Manchester, U.K. on Thursday morning (May 15) over what British authorities alleged was an attack on a music producer at a London nightclub two years ago. According to The Independent, Brown, 36, was detained by Metropolitan Police at the five-star Lowry Hotel in Salford just hours after he arrived on a private jet.
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The singer was arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm, with officials telling the paper, “A 36-year-old man was arrested at a hotel in Manchester shortly after 2am on Thursday, May 15 on suspicion of grievous bodily harm,” without naming Brown, per protocol. “He has been taken into custody where he remains. The arrest relates to an incident at a venue in Hanover Square on February 19, 2023. The investigation is being led by detectives from the Central West Area Basic Command Unit.”
According to the paper, producer Abraham Diaw accused Brown of smashing him over the head with a bottle and kicking him at the Tape nightclub on that night, with Diaw previously telling The Sun on Sunday that Brown “hit me over the head two or three times. My knee collapsed as well.” Diaw has also lodged a civil complaint against Brown for $16 million seeking damagers for injuries and losses as a result of the alleged incident, according to The Independent.
At press time a spokesperson for Brown had not returned a request for comment on the arrest.
Brown has a long history of arrests and allegations of violence, including his 2009 beating of then-girlfriend Rihanna, which led to him being charged with felony assault; that incident resulted in the U.K. denying Brown a visa to travel there for a short tour in 2010. In 2012 he was involved in a brawl with Drake and his entourage at a N.Y. nightclub that injured eight people, followed by an altercation with Frank Ocean over a parking space in West Hollywood in 2013.
The singer was also arrested for felony assault for punching a man outside a hotel in Washington, D.C. in 2013, which led to him being charged with a probation violation and a sentence of 131 days in lockup. He was also allegedly among the men behind an assault on a man during a basketball game at Palms Casino Resort in 2015, an incident his team denied he was involved in. In 2016, Brown was arrested at his home on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and, a year later, was court-ordered to stay 100 yards away from ex-girlfriend Karrueche Tran after she told a court he’d repeatedly threatened her. Among other similar incidents, Brown and several members of his entourage were named in a lawsuit over an alleged assault following one of the singer’s shows in Fort Worth, Texas in which Brown and several accomplices allegedly “brutally and severely beat” four men.
Brown is preparing to launch the European leg of his Breezy Bowl XX Tour, which is slated to kick off on June 8 at Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam. It was not known at press time if Brown’s arrest will hamper his ability to play a planned series of June shows in the U.K. on the tour.
At press time it was also unclear if Brown was still in custody and it did not appear as if he’d commented on the arrest on his social feeds; a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police department had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment at press time.
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura wrapped up her direct testimony against the rap mogul on Wednesday (May 14), telling jurors that Combs threatened to blow up Kid Cudi’s car and revealing the dollar amount of a bombshell settlement that set off the sex-trafficking probe.
Ventura, an R&B singer who dated Combs on and off for 11 years, is the star witness in Combs’ criminal trial. She’s been on the witness stand since Tuesday (May 13), testifying that Combs physically abused her and forced her to have sex with male escorts during drug-fueled events known as “freak offs.”
In her final day of direct testimony, Ventura reportedly told the jury that Combs became enraged when he discovered she was dating Cudi (Scott Mescudi) in 2011, according to The New York Times, which also reported that Ventura testified that Combs lunged at her with a wine opener and threatened to release freak off videos and hurt both her and Mescudi.
Ventura also said that Combs threatened to blow up Mescudi’s car, the Times reports, and that she soon broke things off with Mescudi out of fear.
“Too much danger, too much uncertainty of what could happen if we continued to see each other,” Ventura reportedly testified.
Ventura alleged in a November 2023 civil lawsuit that Mescudi’s car did, in fact, explode in his driveway a short while after Combs’ threats. Combs has not been officially linked to the incident.
Ventura’s civil lawsuit, the first major public accusation against Combs, was also a key topic during her final day of direct testimony. Though Combs settled with Ventura after a single day, the case sparked the criminal probe that led to the current trial and a deluge of other civil sex abuse lawsuits against Combs.
The dollar amount of Ventura’s settlement was kept confidential and long unknown to the public. But according to the Times, Ventura revealed for the first time during her testimony Wednesday that the settlement amounted to $20 million.
Ventura is scheduled to undergo cross-examination by Combs’ lawyers starting Thursday (May 15). The trial could last up to two months total.
That Mexican OT might be able to add bullfighter to his resumé. The Texas rapper served as a guest coach at the Ultimate Bullfighters Midnight Bullfight Saturday (May 10) at Cowtown Coliseum in the Fort Worth, Texas, and decided to step into the arena to try his hand at freestyle bullfighting. Armed with just a […]
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura took the witness stand Tuesday (May 13) at the rap mogul’s sex trafficking trial, telling jurors that Combs “controlled a lot of my life” and subjected her to repeated “physical abuse.”
Ventura, an R&B singer who dated Combs for 11 years, is at the very center of the case against him — in which prosecutors say the superstar used his music empire “feed his every desire,” including by forcing Ventura and other women to have sex with male escorts — events allegedly known as “freak offs.”
Just a day after the trial began, Ventura took the witness stand to tell jurors she felt she had no choice but to participate in those sexual encounters — at times because she was in love with Combs and wanted to please him, but also because she feared blackmail, physical violence and other blowback.
“Sean controlled a lot of my life, whether it was career, the way I dressed — everything,” Ventura, visibly pregnant with her third child, testified. “I just didn’t have much say in it at the time.”
Sometimes emotional, Ventura testified that “violent arguments” with Combs “too often” led to “physical abuse” that included him punching, kicking and dragging her. She also offered more details about the freak offs, including that some lasted days: “The freak offs became a job,” she said, “where there wasn’t any space to do anything else but to recover and just try to feel like normal again.”
Combs was indicted in September, charged with running a sprawling criminal operation aimed at facilitating the elaborate freak offs, in which Combs and others would allegedly ply Ventura and other victims with drugs and then coerce them into having sex with escorts while he masturbated. Prosecutors also claim the star and his associates used violence, money and blackmail to keep victims silent and under his control.
It was Ventura’s civil lawsuit, filed in November 2023, that first raised those allegations against Diddy. Her case, which accused the star of rape and years of physical abuse, was quickly settled with a large payment from Combs, but it sparked a flood of additional suits from other alleged victims and set into motion the criminal probe that led to his indictment.
Once one of the music industry’s most powerful men, Combs is formally accused in the case of racketeering conspiracy (a so-called RICO charge), sex trafficking and violating a federal prostitution statute. If convicted on all of the charges, he faces a potential life prison sentence.
The trial, expected to last two months, kicked off Monday (May 12) with opening statements, during which prosecutors told jurors that Combs and his associates used “coercive and criminal” conduct to make the freak offs happen: “For twenty years, the defendant, with the help of his trusted inner circle, committed crime after crime,” prosecutor Emily A. Johnson told the jury. Prosecutors also quickly played a 2016 surveillance video of Combs beating Ventura at a Los Angeles hotel.
When it was their turn, defense attorneys told jurors that Ventura and other victims had consensually taken part in the sex parties. They admitted that Diddy committed domestic violence during “toxic” relationships with the women and that he certainly had unusual sexual preferences, but said those did not amount to racketeering or sex trafficking: “Sean Combs is a complicated man, but this is not a complicated case,” said defense attorney Teny Geragos.
Following Tuesday morning’s testimony, Ventura is expected to testify more in the afternoon and for several days after that. When prosecutors are finished questioning her, Combs’ attorneys will have a chance to cross-examine her. They will likely seek to cast doubt on her credibility and portray her as a willing participant in the freak offs.
After Ventura’s testimony is complete, prosecutors will continue to call other witnesses, including a second alleged freak off victim identified by the pseudonym “Jane” and an alleged employee victim identified by the pseudonym “Mia.”
Yuval Raphael knows she has her work cut out for her. Israel’s entry into the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest is slated to take the stage on for Thursday’s (May 15) second semi-final round amid tensions around the country’s participation in the global singing competition in the midst of its ongoing war in Gaza.
The 24-year-old tells Billboard she’s ready for whatever comes her way: “Every one of us is experiencing difficult times and none of us are immune to it.”
Raphael is a survivor of the Oct. 7, 2023 Nova Festival massacre in Israel, which was part of a surprise attack in which Hamas raiders murdered more than 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped 250 men, women and children in an assault that set off the now year-and-a-half-long war between Israel and the militant group. (Before talking with Billboard, per competition rules, Raphael’s team stressed that the singer could not answer questions about her escape from the Nova massacre or comment on the war in any fashion.)
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The singer won her spot at Eurovision by coming out on top in Israeli reality talent show Hakohav Haba (Rising Star); her uplifting anthem, “New Day Will Rise,” is her first professional effort after a lifetime of singing in her bedroom. “In my heart I knew that it was going to happen and I used to imagine big stages… but now, doing it professionally feels like a dream come true,” she tells Billboard in a WhatsApp chat.
She sings the song in French, Hebrew and English, the latter because, she says, English is an international language she thinks will help audiences connect with the lyric. “I wanted the message to be out there and understood,” she says of the soaring track on which she sings, “New day will rise, life will go on/ Everyone cries, don’t cry alone/ Darkness will fade, all the pain will go by/ But we will stay, even if you say goodbye.”
Looking for a spot in Saturday’s (May 17) finale, Raphael says the song’s strong message of hope will connect with audiences, pointing to the chorus line about crying as the key to its emotional punch. “Crying is not a bad thing, it’s a way of expressing your emotions and letting everything out instead of keeping it inside,” she says. “And crying with someone else or someone that relates to your grief is something that is so healing… hopefully they’ll take the message of embracing each other and bringing hope to each other.”
As with many Eurovision entries, “New Day Will Rise” is full of uplifting lyrics, soaring emotion and a broad message. Raphael will deliver it from inside a huge silver spiral staircase structure on a massive set featuring video of a cascading waterfall (which is on the somewhat subtle side for the show’s typically way over-the-top production).
British author Chris West, who wrote the 2017 book Eurovision! A History of Modern Europe Through the World Greatest Song Contest — which looked at the sometimes wacky song contest’s intersection with political, cultural and social movements over the past sixty-plus years — tells Billboard that despite event organizer European Broadcasting Union’s insistence that the event remain non-political, it’s inevitable that world events get reflected in its mirror-ball gaze.
“Eurovision makes a big thing about it not being political,” he says, not surprised that the Israeli delegation is sensitive to any hint of mixing events on the ground in the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza with Raphael’s performance. He notes that in 2022 audiences were clearly behind Ukrainian group Kulash’s Orchestra’s run to the top with the song “Stefania” just weeks after Russia launched its unprovoked war on the nation. In 2024, there were also calls for a boycott of Eurovision over the inclusion of an Israeli singer.
Last week, more than 70 former Eurovision contestants signed a petition once again calling on organizers to ban Israel from the competition. West says there is a history of current events impacting Eurovision. In 2021, Belarus was suspended after their song “Ya nauchu teya,” as well as a replacement track, were deemed to have violated the contest’s rules about political messages; in 2022, Russia was denied entry over its invasion of Ukraine.
Last year’s entry from Israel, Eden Golan — who had to change her song title from “October Rain” to “Hurricane” after complaints that it was viewed as a thinly veiled message about the Gaza war — said she received death threats and was booed when she sang. That reaction is something Raphael has said she expects to hear when she sings on Thursday in Switzerland, where she lived for several years as a child.
“It’s pretty unusual to be booed,” West says, adding that it did happen in 2014 when Russia’s entry, the Tolmachevy Sisters, were hit with boos during the semi-finals, seemingly in response to Russia’s invasion of Crimea that year. “It’s always been political in my view, but probably getting more political as its profile rises,” he says. “In Europe, the perception of Eurovision as a joke is over, and people take it more seriously — and as it is taken more seriously, the political aspects will matter more.”
Though she’s barred from discussing it, Raphael’s story is one of the most unusual in Eurovision history. She was nearly killed when Hamas gunmen stormed into Israel on Oct. 7 while she was attending her first outdoor rave. The singer and her friends sprinted to a bomb shelter, with nearly 50 people trying to cram into the small concrete bunker as assailants fired gunshots and lobbed grenades at them.
An Israeli documentary about the mass killing featured a recording of Raphael calling her father in a panic, asking him for help as he counseled her to “play dead.” The tactic allowed her to be one of fewer than a dozen survivors in the shelter, as she hid under a pile of bodies for nearly eight hours until her rescue — on a day when nearly 400 other Nova attendees were killed.
A student of past Israeli Eurovision singers such as 2015 entry Nadav Guedj (“Golden Boy”), as well as 2018’s winning artist, Netta (“Toy”), and 2023’s Noa Kirel (“Unicorn”), Raphael says she reached out to Golan for advice on how to deal with the agita surrounding her participation and the expected push-back from protesters.
“I think the best way of dealing with all the noises is reminding yourself that there is a sole purpose to this contest, which is to bring honor to your country and give a good and honorable performance,” she says — noting that her mother, her biggest supporter, is always by her side. She’s already encountered some of that resistance when demonstrators shouted at her and flew Palestinian flags during Sunday’s turquoise carpet event in Basel, Switzerland, where this year’s edition is being held.
“This competition has such an amazing slogan, ‘United By Music,’” she says. And though she’s not allowed to reference her dramatic backstory, Raphael thinks the song does it for her. “That is the beauty in music: Anyone can take it to their heart and relate to it in your way,” she says. “My song has such a strong message, and hopefully it will [reach as many people as possible] — so I’m very, very excited to be sending that message all over the world.”
At the end of the interview, dropping her on-message mode briefly, Raphael has a final message she feels compelled to share — just hours before the last known living American hostage, Edan Alexander, was reunited with his family after more than 18 months in captivity.
“The hostages should have been home a very long time ago — and hopefully until we’re back, everyone will be home,” she says, in reference to the approximately 58 Israeli hostages that are still in Gaza as the competition kicks off in earnest.
There will be 37 countries participating in this year’s competition, which you can stream on Peacock beginning with Tuesday’s (May 13) first semi-final at 3 p.m. ET. The Grand Final will air on Saturday (May 17) beginning at 3 p.m. ET.
Listen to “New Day Will Rise” below.
Qidere “LGP QUA” Johnson was shot and killed in Philadelphia on Mother’s Day in what authorities are saying was a robbery gone wrong.
The Philadelphia Police Department confirmed to ABC News that the 30-year-old artist, who was also outspoken about gun violence and promoted positivity, was shot multiple times a little after 4:40 p.m. in the Juanita Park neighborhood. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital shortly before 5 p.m. Law enforcement is currently searching for three men who may be linked to the fatal shooting, and is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and a conviction in the case.
“His life will never be in vain with me,” QUA’s publicist, Nikki Bagby, told ABC 6 Action News. “I am heartbroken because people knew QUA as a rapper, but people didn’t know him as a community advocate. Literally, he was the voice of the youth.”
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The young rapper was known as the “Voice of the Youth” because of the honest way he approached street life in his music. The rapper decided to rebrand himself as a positive influence after spending time in prison.
Media personality Mina “SayWhat” Llona, who has interviewed LGP multiple times, spoke with ABC 6 Action News about Johnson’s death. “It’s heartbreaking, it’s just not enough words and I think people are just tired,” she told the news outlet. “You know, we’re tired of saying ‘rest in peace,’ we’re tired of it being the same story and the same narrative. We’re losing young people that are very talented.”
She noted that it’s unfortunate that even someone as positive as Johnson is vulnerable to gun violence. “A young guy not saying those things, being positive,” she said. “You know, giving people inspiration and even he is susceptible to some of the things that our youth are dealing with right now, and it’s just sad.”
Meek Mill was also disappointed when heard the news, taking to his Instagram Stories to make a statement. “Killing ambitious young bulls like this on Mother’s Day is a Philly type of thing,” the Philly rapper said. “S—t will make you different. Prayers to your family, and let’s collect some of them guns. S–t sad out here.”
In 2018, LGP QUA was honored by the city and state at his former school, Edward T. Steel Elementary, where he and Puma also donated $10,000.
“Whoever is looking at me getting these awards and certificates, is like, ‘There is hope,’” the rapper said at the event. “They see someone who was on the negative side change and is on the positive side now.”
The school’s principle Jamal Dennis added at the time, “It’s very hard to do a lot of things if you never seen it, Bringing someone in that they can actually see and hear from, that the road is going to be bumpy — things happen in life.”
Lil Wayne has been accused of abuse by his girlfriend, Denise Bidot, who claims the New Orleans native broke up with her on Mother’s Day via text message.
“Breaking up with someone on Mother’s Day is diabolical,” Bidot wrote to her Instagram Story on Sunday (May 11). “Prayers up though. God always pulls me through. Walking with faith.”
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Bidot alleged that Wayne’s team kicked her and her 16-year-old daughter out of his house where they had been living at the time on Sunday (May 11).
“I am just recovering from surgery. I am five weeks out from a whole mommy makeover. I can’t even lift boxes. But this man has his assistants coming to help kick us out today, and broke up with me on Mother’s Day through text,” she claimed in a post to her IG Story. “And her birthday’s next weekend. And I leave to New York this week for all the Sports Illustrated press. When I tell you that I am absolutely unsure on how to even process my emotions.”
She went on to allege in a follow-up video that Wayne “laid a f—ing hand” on her in addition to accusing him of emotional abuse throughout their relationship.
“It’s not just the emotional abuse,” Bidot accused. “This man has actually laid a f—ing hand on me. And I took it. And you know what’s crazy is, they always say we’re so stupid for love, and I thought it was a mistake. But I know other women he’s put his hands on.”
Bidot says she was “uprooted” from New York City to live with Wayne and claimed he had “two girls” being flown in as well as a “plethora” of women on his roster.
“I’ve been nothing but supportive to this man, loved him ‘til the end of the world,” she continued. “But, like, you literally flew me, uprooted me from New York City where I was living, and brought me here for this bulls–t. Like, that’s crazy, you guys. Like, these men really be taking advantage.”
The Sports Illustrated model says she is ready to take legal action, soliciting lawyers to reach out to her as she plans to regroup and take her next steps.
Lil Wayne and Denise Bidot met in 2019 and went public with their relationship in 2020. They appeared to split in 2022 but got back together shortly after.
Billboard has reached out to Lil Wayne’s team for comment.
Johnny Rodriguez, a trailblazing Hispanic figure in country music, has died at the age of 73.
His daughter, Aubry Rodriguez, confirmed her father’s passing in a heartfelt social media post on Friday (May 9). The late Mexican-American singer had entered hospice care earlier in the week, according to Saving Country Music.
“It is with profound sadness and heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved Johnny Rodriguez, who left us peacefully on May 9th, surrounded by family,” Aubry wrote on Instagram. “Dad was not only a legendary musician whose artistry touched millions around the world, but also a deeply loved husband, father, uncle, and brother whose warmth, humor, and compassion shaped the lives of all who knew him.”
She continued, “We are immensely grateful for the outpouring of love and support from fans, colleagues, and friends during this time of grief.”e
Aubry concluded her tribute by calling her father an “irreplaceable” and an “extraordinary talent,” and requested privacy for the family as they “navigate this painful moment together.”
Born Juan Rodriguez in Sabinal, Texas, in 1951, Rodriguez was discovered at 18 by music promoter Happy Shahan after he was heard singing in a jail cell, where he was briefly held for a minor offense, according to a Ken Burns biography on PBS.org.
Rodriguez’s musical influences ranged from mariachi to honky-tonk, shaped by his South Texas upbringing. “I was drawn to country music because I could relate more to what they were singing about,” he told Burns. “And also it was just like the music of our people. In Mexican music, you have stories. Mexican music and country music said almost the same thing, just in different languages,” he said.
Initially performing under the name Johnny Rogers, Rodriguez played at Alamo Village and soon caught the attention of country stars Bobby Bare and Tom T. Hall. At 21, he moved to Nashville, changed his last name back to Rodriguez, joined Hall’s band as a guitarist, and later signed with Mercury Records.
In the 1970s, Rodriguez achieved scored several No. 1 hits on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart, including “Ridin’ My Thumb to Mexico” and “You Always Come Back (to Hurting Me).” He was nominated for the Academy of Country Music’s entertainer of the year in 1974 and was featured in the Country Radio Seminar’s New Faces of Country Music show in 1973. In 2007, he was inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame.
Rodriguez is survived by his daughter, Aubry, whom he shared with his second wife, Debbie McNeely.
Read Aubry’s touching tribute to her father on Instagram here.
An anonymous artist is suing Uproxx for $15 million, claiming the media company’s production director sexually assaulted and harassed her at industry events, including a music festival, as well as at a Miguel video shoot.
In a lawsuit submitted to state court in Los Angeles on Thursday (May 8), the lawyer for a woman going by Jane Doe says she’s the victim of a “sustained campaign of sexual harassment, assault, stalking, fraud and workplace misconduct” by Uproxx creative production director Steven Victor Vasquez Jr.
“Defendants’ actions encompassing coerced sexual encounters, nonconsensual distribution of intimate images and persistent stalking constitute a profound violation of plaintiff’s fundamental rights to bodily autonomy, privacy and professional dignity,” writes Doe’s attorney, James Bohm. “These acts have inflicted severe emotional trauma, physical harm and substantial economic loss.”
Doe, a Phoenix-based artist published by Warner Chappell, allegedly met Vasquez at a February 2024 Grammy brunch event hosted by Uproxx. Warner Music Group (WMG) owned Uproxx at the time but has since sold the entertainment news and production company. (WMG is not named as a defendant in the complaint.)
According to Doe’s attorney, Vasquez lured her into a series of unwanted sexual encounters by promising to secure her collaborations with Uproxx and lucrative deals with brands like Sour Patch Kids, Zillow, Sparkling Ice and McDonald’s.
In June 2024, for example, Vasquez allegedly convinced Doe to attend “The Gorge music festival” (seemingly Beyond Wonderland at The Gorge) with him in Washington state. There, he apparently “pressured her to share a room, plied her with alcohol and psychedelic mushrooms and appeared naked in her bed without consent, committing sexual assault.”
Doe’s lawyer says Vasquez also forced her to look at pornographic images while on a trip to the Dominican Republic and engaged in other inappropriate behavior during an Uproxx event at Howard University and a video shoot for the R&B singer Miguel.
“Vasquez gaslighted plaintiff, accused her of fictitious affairs, attempted to terminate an employee for complimenting her and pressured her for unprotected sex,” writes Bohm.
The lawsuit says Doe tried to cut off contact with Vasquez in December 2024, but he flew to her home in Arizona and demanded sexual favors, leading her to call the Phoenix Police Department. Vasquez continued to harass her with “messages, videos, sexually explicit images and gifts” through April 2025, Doe’s lawyer alleges.
The lawsuit brings a total of 16 claims, including sexual harassment, sexual battery and stalking, and it seeks more than $15 million in damages from both Vasquez and Uproxx.
Bohm declined to comment on the lawsuit Friday (May 9). Vasquez and Uproxx’s representatives did not immediately respond to Billboard’s requests for comment.
A spokesperson for the Phoenix Police Department confirmed to Billboard that it did receive a report about the alleged December 2024 incident but says no arrests were made.
Vic Mensa has come out in support of Kehlani after the singer has seen two of their live shows canceled in recent weeks.
The Chicago rapper shared an open letter on Instagram to the Bay Area singer about her recently canceled SummerStage Central Park.
“Dear Kehlani,” his Wednesday (May 7) post began. “Few artists, and even fewer at your level of success, have chosen to center humanity and courage as boldly and uncompromisingly as you have, let alone at the peak of their popularity. Although newer to religion, I have a deep seated belief that God, or the universe, or however you categorize the all-powerful presence of the divine, is taking note — of every selfless action, of every sacrifice, of every time we jeopardize our security to do what’s right. I toe the line with you.”
He continued on by sharing that he sometimes has been reluctant to speak up because he didn’t want to lose opportunities.
“I lost a lot,” he wrote. “I’ll be honest. But, perhaps out of necessity, I have to choose to believe that when the smoke clears, I’ll look at my past with pride; I wasn’t perfect, but I forged myself out of fire. I took the hard road. I’ve been awe inspired by the way you’ve stood up. Especially at a time when I fell back and I asked myself, ‘Although, I need to feed my son, what kind of man do I want to inspire him to be?’”
Vic then brought up his Muslim faith and commended Kehlani for their sacrifice and bravery. “The highest form of sadaqah, or charity, is that which is given in health, and with much loved wealth,” he wrote. “When we give, not what we don’t need, but what we need most, the reverberation is supreme.”
He added, “I have often thought about your choices over the last 18 months. Wished I was more brave and more self sufficient. The truth is, your people love you. Not because of an opportunity provided to you by a booker here, or a city there, but because they cherish the depth of your soul. None of this can change that. As long as you have them you can never lose. The powers that be may be great, but I do believe we can all agree — there is a greater power.”
In response to Cornell University canceling their show, Kehlani reiterated that she isn’t antisemitic or antisemitic — she’s anti-genocide. When it came to the SummerStage cancellation, the musician responded with “lol” on Instagram Stories and added that they found out about the cancellation on IG.
The “Afterhours” artist has been open about her support for Palestine in the Israel-Hamas war. In 2023, they — along with numerous other musicians called for a ceasefire when signing the Artists Against Apartheid letter. Her 2024 music video for “Next 2 U” also featured dancers waving Palestinian flags.