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Bad Bunny has released a stirring video tribute to Puerto Rico after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe referred to the U.S. commonwealth as a “floating island of garbage” during Donald Trump’s Oct. 27 rally in New York’s Madison Square Garden. The racist statement sparked widespread criticism, prompting Bad Bunny to respond not with words, but with a […]
Donald Trump apparently wanted 50 Cent in da club. The Grammy-winning rapper appeared on The Breakfast Club on Tuesday (Oct. 29), and shared that he was offered $3 million to appear at Trump’s recent New York City rally held at Madison Square Garden.
During their chat, DJ Envy asked 50, “Is it true Donald Trump tried to give you money to endorse him one time?”
The rapper told his hosts that he got a call from the twice-impeached former president about “Sunday” (Oct. 27), with Jess Hilarious clarifying by asking whether he was talking about MSG, which 50 confirmed.
“They wanted you to perform ‘Many Men’ at the RNC too, right?” Charlamagne Tha God then asked. (The Get Rich or Die Tryin’ track soundtracked Trump’s entrance to Adin Ross’ stream in August.)
“Yeah. They offered me $3 million!” the “In Da Club” rapper shared. A surprised Charlamagne then asked if it was for the event at Madison Square Garden or the RNC, with 50 replying that it was indeed for the MSG rally. He also replied in the affirmative when Charlamagne asked whether he was offered payment as well for the Republican National Convention.
50 — who did not appear at the RNC in July nor at Trump’s NYC rally — went on to explain why he rejected the offers. “I didn’t even go far,” he told the three hosts of the offers. “I’m afraid of politics, you understand? I do not like it. … It’s because when you do get involved in it, no matter how you feel, somebody passionately disagrees with you. Look, if you say ‘I stay away from religion,’ I stay away from politics. Religion, that’s the formula for the confusion that it sent Kanye to Japan. He said something about both of those things and now he can only go to Japan. So you know I’m like I don’t want to get in that, man.”
Billboard has reached out to Trump’s campaign for comment.
In recent years, Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) has supported Trump, before declaring on July 4, 2020, that he was running for president as well. (He did not get far in his efforts, missing South Carolina’s July 20 deadline that year to get on the ballot.) Then beginning in October 2022, the rapper repeatedly made antisemitic hate speech, which resulted in him facing consequences that included losing brand deals, declines of airplay of his music catalog and more.
In 2020, 50 Cent supported Trump — who in May was convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records — before retracting his endorsement after former girlfriend Chelsea Handler called him out. “F–k Donald Trump, I never liked him,” the rapper later said when retweeting a video of the comedian — who preveriously referred the rapper as her favorite ex — on The Tonight Show in which she criticized her ex for his support of the business mogul.
Watch 50’s interview on The Breakfast Club below:
Bob Weir is voting for Kamala Harris and her vice presidential pick, Tim Walz, in the upcoming election. The Grateful Dead rocker took to Instagram on Monday (Oct. 28) to share a photo of himself wearing a Dead-inspired Harris-Walz 2024 shirt, alongside a snap of Walz holding the tee and another with his wife, Natascha […]
Swifties are speaking out against comedian Tony Hinchecliff after he gave a controversial speech at a Donald Trump rally at Madison Square Garden over the weekend.
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In addition to a series of racist remarks about Puerto Rico, the Latin community, Black people, Jewish people, Palestinians and more, Hinchecliff’s speech also included several derogatory statements about music stars. “I don’t know about you, but I think that Travis Kelce might be the next O.J. Simpson,” he said in reference to the Super Bowl-winning boyfriend of Taylor Swift, whom Trump called out on X last month after the superstar endorsed Kamala Harris for president.
Simpson was a successful professional football player who was charged in June 1994 for murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman, after the two were found stabbed to death in Los Angeles. The now-infamous eight-month murder trial led to his acquittal in October 1995. Three years later, in 1998, he was found liable for the murders in a civil suit from the victims’ families.
Following Hinchecliff’s speech, Swift’s fans flooded social media with criticism of the remark and the distasteful implication that Kelce might murder the “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” singer. “While you’re here, can you please explain in detail why calling Travis Kelce the ‘next OJ’ is funny?” one fan asked Hinchcliffe in response to his defense of his set, noting that people have “no sense of humor.”
“How utterly offensive,” another wrote, while a third expressed, “That racist comedian’s jokes were so disgustingly racist and vile that the #swifties haven’t caught wind about the fact that he made a joke about Travis Kelce being the next OJ Simpson, implying he will k*ll Taylor Swift, and everyone laughed.”
See more reactions below.
Are we going to talk about the Tony guy at Trumps rally saying Travis might be the next OJ Simpson?? Like is he implying Travis should kill Taylor Swift? Is there some context I’m missing here or something???— Black Queen💗 (@Melaninqueen202) October 28, 2024
The PR comments are getting a lot of attention as well they should.But also can we talk about: the guy literally joked about Taylor Swift. Being killed. By her boyfriend.Horrifying … and also I dunno maybe further motivates the swiftie vote because … what a joke (“joke”).— Danielle Kurtzleben (@titonka) October 28, 2024
The OJ reference is in really poor taste. The guy brutally murdered his wife and her friend.
To imply that Travis Kelce could become like that is just sick. Not funny.
— Flyover Zone Patriot 🇺🇸 (@SharkeyTim) October 27, 2024
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Following a Donald Trump rally at Madison Square Garden over the weekend that included racist and derogatory comments about Latinos, Puerto Rico and others, a representative for the Manhattan arena distanced itself from highly publicized remarks but stopped short of condemning the comments.
“As a business we are neutral in political matters,” the rep says in a statement provided to Billboard. “We rent to either side. We don’t censor artists, performers or speakers.”
The statement follows an appearance at the rally by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, whose 12-minute address involved a series of disparaging remarks about Palestinians, Jewish people, Latinos, major musical stars and more.
“These Latinos, they love making babies, just know that. They do. There’s no pulling out. They don’t do that. They come inside, just like they did to our country,” said Hinchcliffe, host of the popular live comedy podcast Kill Tony. He followed that statement by saying, “There’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”
This latter statement garnered swift and widespread backlash, with Democratic nominee Kamala Harris quickly releasing a video pledging to do her best for the citizens of the island. Harris’ video was boosted by myriad Puerto Rican artists including Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin and Luis Fonsi.
On Monday (Oct. 28), Marc Anthony also responded, writing on X (formerly Twitter) that “[Trump] launched his campaign by calling Latinos criminals and rapists. He’s told us what he’ll do. He’ll separate children from their families and threatened to use the ARMY to do it This election goes way beyond political parties… And that’s why I support Kamala Harris for President.”
For the Sunday (Oct. 27) rally, the Trump campaign rented Madison Square Garden, which has been used for a number of political events over its long history, including both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. During the rally, the Democratic National Committee projected messages on the side of the venue, including one that read “Trump Praised Hitler.” (To wit, in 1939, Madison Square Garden hosted a rally for the American Nazi party that was billed as a “pro-Americanism” and attended by approximately 20,000 people. The American Nazi party was later outlawed following Adolf Hitler’s declaration of war against the U.S. following the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor at the end of 1941.)
In addition to his other remarks, Hinchecliff’s speech included several derogatory statements about major music stars. “I don’t know about you, but I think that Travis Kelce might be the next O.J. Simpson,” he said in reference to the boyfriend of Taylor Swift, whom Trump lashed out at on X (formerly Twitter) after the superstar endorsed Harris for president in September.
The comedian also referenced Harris supporters Leonardo DiCaprio, Eminem and Beyoncè, saying that “every day the Democratic party looks more like a P. Diddy party.”
During his speech, Trump himself called Madison Square Garden “incredible” and thanked MSG Entertainment CEO James Dolan, a registered Democrat who’s been friends with Trump for more three decades. “I want to thank Jim Dolan,” Trump said. “He’s been incredible. He’s been just incredible. The job they’ve done. The job they’ve done. Thank you.”
GloRilla has endorsed Kamala Harris for president ahead of the 2024 U.S. elections taking place next week. The 25-year-old MC outlined four reasons why people should pick her for president in a video posted to her TikTok account Monday (Oct. 28): “A woman’s right to choose, Protect the LGBTQIA+ Community, Funding for Public Education and […]
By now, Mariah Carey‘s annual “It’s Time!” videos — in which she cheekily sings the phrase in her whistling register before the opening notes of “All I Want for Christmas Is You” come in to ring in the Christmas season — are a holiday hallmark as much as snowmen and gingerbread cookies. In an Instagram video shared Monday (Oct. 28), Carey teamed up with Emmy-winning actress and producer Kerry Washington for an election-themed spin on the popular meme.
“No, no, no! It’s not your season yet, Mariah. It’s voting season!” Washington quips as she interrupts Carey’s “All I Want” intro while clad in a white T-shirt and black cap, both emblazoned with “vote.”
After a playfully annoyed “What? OK,” the five-time Grammy winner then affirmatively responds to Washington’s queries about her voting plans for Election Day (Nov. 5). “Have you registered? Have you made a plan?” Washington asks, alluding to the myriad ways voters can make their voices heard at the ballot box next month. Carey, in a characteristically Christmas-y red top, plaid skirt, black tights and boots, replied that she already registered to vote and “executed” her voting plan.
“That’s amazing!” Washington exclaimed. “Because it’s my season before it’s her season. So, now all we need is you!” To drive home the final word of her sentence, Washington and Carey returned to singing as they harmonized the “you” riff from the beginning of “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” Carey even vocalized a bit of the instrumental before the pair sang the opening note of the first verse in unison. Given Washington’s musical background — she starred in Ryan Murphy’s Golden Globe-nominated film adaptation of the Tony-nominated Prom musical in 2020 — the actress proved to be a formidable duet partner for the singer.
Carey and Washington’s cheeky clip continues the Scandal actress’ involvement in getting out the vote for the 2024 election. She served as emcee for the final night of August’s Democratic National Convention and recently lent her voice to a historic radio ad campaign targeting Black voters. Last year, Carey visited the White House with her twins Moroccan and Monroe to ring in the Christmas season with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
This year, Carey is celebrating 30 years of her Merry Christmas album, which has spent two weeks atop Holiday Albums. The legendary set, which houses her Billboard Hot 100-topping “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” will receive a special anniversary release later this year. On Nov. 6, she will kick off her Christmas Time tour in Highland, Calif. The trek will visit major cities such as Houston and Nashville before concluding in Brooklyn on Dec. 17.
Watch Mariah Carey and Kerry Washington’s video encouraging fans to vote:
The Harris campaign will continue to rock this week with another campaign event featuring prominent musical guests. According to an announcement for the When We Vote We Win event in Madison, WI on Wednesday (Oct. 30) evening, it will feature Democratic Presidential candidate current V.P. Kamala Harris, as well as appearances from Gracie Abrams, Remi […]
Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin were among the prominent artists who showed support for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign on Sunday (Oct. 27) after a speaker at a Donald Trump rally made a racist joke about Puerto Rico. All three boosted a video from the Democratic candidate pledging to do her best for the citizens of the island nation following what CNN described as a Trump rally brimming with “blistering anti-migrant rhetoric [that] ranks alongside the most flagrant demagoguery by a major figure in any Western nation since World War II.”
Their show of support for Harris came after comedian/podcaster Tony Hinchcliffe opened for convicted felon Trump at a rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden by offering up the racist jibe, “There’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”
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In addition, Hinchcliffe — one of nearly 30 speakers who warmed up the crowd for twice impeached former Pres. Trump — also made other racist and sexist jokes about Latinos (“they love making babies… there’s no pulling out. They don’t do that. They come inside, just like they did to our country”) as well as racist jibes about his Black “buddies” who he “carved watermelons” with and an antisemitic joke about how “Jews have a hard time throwing that paper.”
According to reports, the attempts at humor did not go over well inside the room, where they were met with tepid applause. And in an unusual apology from the Trump campaign, a senior advisor said in a statement afterwards that “this joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign,” seemingly in reference to the Puerto Rico joke. The Harris campaign referred to the Hinchcliffe set as “a vile racist tirade against Latinos.”
The racist comment immediately galvanized the trio of Puerto Rican artists, with Bad Bunny re-posting a video message from Harris in which she discussed the importance of the election for the citizens of the U.S. territory, reminding them what Trump “did and did not do when Puerto Rico needed a caring and a competent leader” after the nation was hit with devastating damage after Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017; a new report revealed that the Trump administration obstructed an investigation into why officials withheld $20 billion in hurricane relief from P.R. following Maria.
In addition to Bad Bunny sharing the message with his 45 million Instagram followers, Martin also boosted the Harris video to his nearly 19 million followers on his Instagram Stories, adding the message, “I remember @kamalaharris,” as did Lopez, whose re-post to her 250 million Instagram followers included links to Harris’ socials as well as a hands clapping emoji. Martin also claimed that his posts on X with similar content were being suppressed on the platform owned by Trump financial backer Elon Musk.
“Despacito” star and P.R. native Luis Fonsi reposted the Hinchcliffe video on his Stories with the message “Are you serious?,” as well as a portion of the Harris video and a lengthy personal note responding to the hate speech. “I understand comedy, I’m a big fan of it,” he wrote. I love roasts, trust me I get it. BUT… this is far from comedy. Not now, not against my island [Puerto Rico flag emoji], my people. Hell nah!”
Fonsi said it’s okay to have different views, but racism is not acceptable. ““We are not OK with this constant hate. It’s been abundantly clear that these people have no respect for us and yet they want our vote,” Fonsi wrote. “I purposely wrote this in English cause yes we’re American too.”
The shocking comments from Hinchcliffe at the Trump rally where CNN reported Republican candidate Trump and his MAGA surrogates spewed “racist, vulgar attacks at Harris and Democrats” came nine days before Americans go to the polls, and just a few after Trump’s former chief of staff, retired Marine General John Kelly, said the former reality TV star fits into the “general definition of a fascist” and frequently praised Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. It also comes as both Harris and Trump are spending precious time and money in the waning hours of the campaign to win over voters in the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania, where nearly 500,000 Puerto Ricans live, representing the third-largest P.R. diaspora in the U.S.
While the quartet of P.R.-born superstars did not explicitly endorse the Harris campaign in their posts, the show of support for the Democrat vying to the the first woman and person of Asian American descent to become President comes as both campaigns have been laser-focused on trying to win over crucial voting blocks including Black and Hispanic men.
With just over a week to go before Election Day, the DNC is kicking into high gear.
On Monday (Oct. 28), the DNC announced a historic “I Will Vote” ad campaign targeting Black voters through ads in 55 Black publications and on 48 Black radio stations across the United States. Grammy-winning Billboard Hot 100 chart-toppers Stevie Wonder, John Legend and LeToya Luckett-Coles are set to lend their voices to the campaign, alongside Emmy-winning actress and producer Kerry Washington.
Wonder, Legend, Luckett-Coles and Washington each voice a unique ad focusing on a different element of the upcoming election. Wonder stresses the merit and importance of voting in elections because they “determine our future”; Legend explicitly notes the Democrats’ triumph in capping insulin prices at “$35 a month for seniors”; Luckett-Coles reminds listeners that “several women in states across this country are literally dying because they rolled away our rights to reproductive health care” and Washington encourages voting “if you want to lower the cost of living.”
“This investment showcases Democrats’ unwavering commitment to reaching Black voters where they are and through the platforms they trust – including familiar Black voices that will reach them on the airwaves – to ensure they have the resources they need to cast their ballot in the most important election of our lifetimes,” DNC Chair Jaime Harrison said in a statement. “We know that the Black vote will play a major role in the outcome of this election … In this last sprint to Election Day, the Democratic Party is taking no vote or community for granted, using every opportunity to engage with every facet of our diverse coalition of voters in order to elect Democrats up and down the ballot this November.”
Some of the Black digital and print publications that will feature the new ad campaign include African News Digest, The Baltimore Times, Ebony News Today, The New Orleans Tribune, Pride Magazine, Star of Zion, Word In Black and The Villager.
The “I Will Vote” campaign coincides with the DNC’s HBCU Homecoming Tour in partnership with BET We V.O.T.E., which featured Spelman College and Morehouse College’s Spelhouse Homecoming as its final stop. The tour also visited Winston-Salem University (Sept. 28), Lincoln University (Oct. 12), Virginia State University (Oct. 12), Howard University (Oct. 19) and North Carolina A&T State University (Oct. 19).
All of the artists involved in the “I Will Vote” campaign have lent their support to the Democratic Party in the past. At this year’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago (held Aug. 19-22), Wonder performed his 1973 Hot 100 top 10 hit “Higher Ground” (No. 4); a few weeks later, the music legend unveiled a poignant new single titled “Can We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart,” his first new song in four years. That track soon gave way to a short arena tour called Sing Your Song! As We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart.
Legend also performed at the 2024 DNC. The EGOT winner teamed up with Sheila E. for a spirited rendition of “Let’s Go Crazy” in tribute to Prince, who shares a home state with Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz (Minnesota). Though she is not a musician, Washington also lent her star power to the DNC, serving as emcee for the convention’s final night while staging a reunion with Scandal co-star (and fictional president!) Tony Goldwyn.
Luckett-Cole, who boasts a Billboard 200 No. 1 album of her own (2006’s LeToya), is a former member of Destiny’s Child. During her time in the Grammy-winning vocal group, she sang alongside Kelly Rowland, LaTavia Roberson and Beyoncé, whose Kendrick Lamar-assisted “Freedom” has served as Vice President Kamala Harris‘ official campaign song.