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Ashanti is opening up following the death of Irv Gotti.
On Friday (Feb. 7), the R&B star shared a heartfelt tribute on social media to honor the Murder Inc. Records founder after his passing.
“I can’t believe things ended like this….and it makes me so sad,” Ashanti wrote on her Instagram Story, according to TMZ. “We weren’t on the best terms the past few years but as I’ve always said, through our ups and downs I will forever be grateful for everything that you’ve done for me. We made history and that will remain infinite..”
The “Foolish” singer continued, “I’ve always respected your musical genius and ability to push me to be my best.. All the greatness and positive things that came, far outweigh the dark and negative times. I have always prayed for you to find peace. Sending love and prayers to the entire family. Rest well. Rest in Peace Irv.”
Along with the post, Ashanti also reportedly shared a series of throwback photos from her Murder Inc. days, including an image from the release of her 2002 self-titled debut album.
Gotti, who co-founded the iconic Murder Inc. Records and helped launch the careers of Ja Rule and Ashanti in the early 2000s, passed away on Feb. 5 after suffering a stroke. He was 54 years old.
Alongside his brother Chris, Irv Gotti (born Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr.) launched Murder Inc. in 1998 as an imprint of Def Jam, following his success in helping bring DMX to the vaunted hip-hop label. Ja Rule became the flagship artist for Murder Inc., and the label’s first release was his 1999 debut album, Venni Vetti Vecci.
In addition to Ja Rule, Gotti also discovered Ashanti when she was a teenager. She went on to achieve fame with memorable hooks on rap hits and her own solo R&B success. Ashanti’s three biggest hits all came in 2002: Ja Rule’s “Always on Time,” featuring Ashanti, topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks; Fat Joe’s “What’s Luv?,” featuring Ashanti, peaked at No. 2; and her own “Foolish” spent 10 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100.
Billboard recently named “Foolish” and “I’m Real” among the Top Hot 100 Songs of the 21st Century.
Gotti won a Grammy in 2003 for co-producing Ashanti’s eponymous debut album, which earned best contemporary R&B album. He was nominated again the following year for co-writing Ashanti’s “Rock Wit U (Awww Baby),” which was a finalist for best R&B song.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Friday (Feb. 7) that he is firing members of the board of trustees for the Kennedy Center and naming himself chairman.
He also indicated that he would be dictating programming at one of the nation’s premier cultural institutions, specifically declaring that he’d put an end to events featuring performers in drag.
Trump’s announcement came as the new president has bulldozed his way across official Washington during the first weeks of his second term, trying to shutter federal agencies, freeze spending and ending diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across the government.
“At my direction, we are going to make the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., GREAT AGAIN. I have decided to immediately terminate multiple individuals from the Board of Trustees, including the Chairman, who do not share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture,” Trump wrote.
“We will soon announce a new Board, with an amazing Chairman, DONALD J. TRUMP!”
Unlike former President Joe Biden and other commanders in chief through the decades, Trump did not attend the annual Kennedy Center Honors ceremonies during his first term, held at the performing arts venue in Washington’s Foggy Bottom neighborhood that opened in 1971.
Shortly after Trump’s post, the Kennedy Center website began experiencing technical difficulties. Visitors got a message reading “We are experiencing high traffic” and were redirected to a “waiting room” that listed how many hundreds of people were trying to access the site ahead of them.
Trump suggested in his post that he would be implementing some changes to the center’s performance schedule, noting that last year “the Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth — THIS WILL STOP.”
According to its website, the center in July hosted a preshow titled “A Drag Salute to Divas” and a November “Drag Brunch.”
In his post, Trump did not clarify which board of trustee members he would be terminating besides the current chairman, philanthropist David Rubenstein. The board often features political powerbrokers and major donors, and is currently made up of members from both sides of the aisle.
Rubenstein was first elected to the post in 2010 and reelected each year since that time. Also, the principal owner of the Baltimore Orioles, Rubenstein was originally appointed to the Kennedy Center board by President George W. Bush and subsequently reappointed by President Barack Obama and Biden.
The current board features Biden’s White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, as well as Mike Donilon, Biden’s longtime ally, and Stephanie Cutter, a former Obama adviser. The treasurer of the center’s board of trustees is television producer Shonda Rhimes, who hosted fundraisers for Biden before he abandoned his reelection bid last summer.
But the current board also features Trump allies, including Pam Bondi, the new president’s recently confirmed attorney general, and Lee Greenwood, whose song “God Bless the USA,” was the unofficial anthem of Trump’s presidential campaign.
During his first term in 2019, Trump announced that he was tapping actor Jon Voight, a longtime supporter, to the board, along with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who he’s picked as U.S. ambassador to Israel this time.
Megan Thee Stallion can proceed with a defamation lawsuit accusing social media personality Milagro Gramz of waging a “campaign of harassment” against the star on behalf of Tory Lanez, a federal judge says.
The rapper sued Gramz (Milagro Cooper) last year, claiming the YouTuber had been “churning out falsehoods” about the high-profile criminal case against Lanez, in which he was convicted of shooting Megan in the foot during a 2020 dispute in the Hollywood Hills.
In a 25-page decision on Friday (Feb. 7), Judge Cecilia Altonaga denied a request by Gramz to dismiss the case, saying Megan had made a “compelling case” that the blogger had defamed her by claiming the star lied during Lanez’s trial and that she was “mentally retarded.”
“Plaintiff’s claims extend far beyond mere negligence — they paint a picture of an intentional campaign to destroy her reputation,” the judge wrote. “That is more than enough to [deny the motion to dismiss].”
The judge also refused to dismiss Megan’s other claims against Gramz, including that Gramz had violated a Florida state law by sharing a pornographic “deepfake” of the rapper. Defense attorneys had argued that Gramz had not actually shared the clip merely by “liking” it on X, but Judge Altonaga noted Friday that she’d allegedly done more than that.
“By ‘liking’ an X.com post that featured the deepfake video, the video was exhibited on defendant’s X.com account’s ‘Likes’ page,” the judge wrote. “Defendant also brought the video ‘before the public’ when she allegedly directed viewers of her post to click on her ‘Likes’ page where the video had been archived.”
The judge did dismiss one claim — Megan’s accusation of cyberstalking — but allowed her to refile the case this month to try to fix the error.
In a statement to Billboard, Gramz’s attorney Michael A. Pancier stressed that the decision was an early-stage ruling subject only to a “more lenient legal standard” and that “many of these issues will be revisited at a later stage following the completion of the discovery process.”
“This decision does not reflect a determination on the merits of the case,” Pancier said. “The plaintiff must now substantiate her claims with credible and admissible evidence.”
A rep for Megan declined to comment on the ruling.
Lanez (Daystar Peterson) was convicted in December 2022 on three felony counts over the violent 2020 incident, in which he shot at the feet of Megan during an argument following a pool party at Kylie Jenner’s house in the Hollywood Hills. In August 2023, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He has filed an appeal, which remains pending.
In an October lawsuit, Megan’s attorneys accused Gramz of repeatedly spreading falsehoods about that criminal case, including questioning whether Megan was even shot and claiming she was “caught trying to deceive the courts.” More recently, they said Gramz had pushed the “outlandish claim” that the gun Lanez used in the shooting had gone missing from evidence.
The lawsuit claimed the blogger made those claims because she was serving as a “mouthpiece and puppet” for Lanez as the singer sat behind bars. In an updated version of the lawsuit filed in December, Megan’s attorneys said prison call logs suggested that Lanez and his father had arranged to pay Gramz.
In seeking to dismiss the case, defense attorneys argued that Megan could not meet the difficult requirement of showing that Gramz had acted with “actual malice” — that she had either intentionally lied about Megan or had acted with a reckless disregard for the truth.
But in Friday’s ruling, Judge Altonaga said that the rapper’s claims, if later proven with evidence, would likely be enough to win a defamation case.
“The [lawsuit] makes a compelling case that defendant acted with reckless disregard for the truth,” the judge wrote. “Plaintiff asserts that readily available information contradicted defendant’s statements at the time of publication [and that] defendant knowingly spread these falsehoods at Peterson’s direction, fully aware they were fabricated to harm plaintiff.”
“Finally, defendant seemingly profited from the defamation — gaining a larger social media following, online notoriety, and lucrative sponsorship opportunities,” the judge added.
In the midst of his hourslong spree of hate-filled, antisemitic, homophobic and ableist tweets on Friday morning (Feb. 7), Ye reached out to his friend President Donald Trump with a plea for the commander in chief to free disgraced hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs.
“Free Puff,” Ye wrote in all caps on X in the first missive of the barrage of tweets, later adding, “@realDonaldTrump please free my brother Puff.” Combs (variously known as Puffy, Puff Daddy and Puff over the course of his career) was arrested in September and is currently in jail without bail awaiting federal trial in New York on racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution charges tied to what prosecutors say was an intricate scheme in which he “abused, threatened and coerced women and others around him to fulfill sexual desires.”
Combs is also facing dozens of civil lawsuits from women and men who claim that the once unstoppable Bad Boy Records boss sexually and physically assaulted them, forced or coerce them into sexual activity during hedonistic “freak off” parties and threatened them over the course of incidents dating back almost 30 years; Combs, who has denied all the allegations, is slated to go on trial in May in the case that could land him in prison for the rest of his life.
West visited the White House during Trump’s first term and has proudly worn the MAGA hat over the years. Amid the offensive tweets he also announced the launch of a collaboration between his Yeezy fashion brand and Comb’s Sean John fashion line. As of Friday morning, a number of basic-form white, grey and black “Sean John” t-shirts were available on the Yeezy site alongside a black sweatshirt with the white supremacist phrase “White Lives Matter.”
According to West, profits from the $20 shirts will be split evenly with Combs. “I just found out that Puff is not allowed to make or collect money while he’s locked up so I’ma send his half of the money to Justin,” he wrote, not identifying which Justin he was referring to.
The profanity-filled tweet string also featured a call-out of fellow celebrities — whom he referred to as “celebrity ni–as and b–ches [who] is p–sy” — who “watch our brother rot and never say s–t.” Trump, who pardoned more than 1,500 January 6 rioters on his first day in office in January — and who in the waning days of his first term pardoned or commuted the sentences of rappers Lil Wayne and Kodak Black — has not mentioned Combs’ case in the first few weeks of his second term.
In addition to advocating for the release of Combs, Ye also praised singer Chris Brown, writing, “we all watched them try to cancel Chris Brown and aint nobody do nothing,” adding, “I was p–sy then too Chris Brown its til the wheels fall off,” a seeming reference to West’s new song with Ty Dolla $ign, “Wheels Fall Off.”
Brown plead guilty to felony assault on then-girlfriend Rihanna after brutally beating the singer in 2009, for which he was sentence to five years probation, domestic violence counseling and six months of community service. In the years since, as Brown has continued to release charting songs as his list of reported physical altercations and allegations of battery have grown.
He was involved in a scuffle with Drake’s entourage at a New York nightclub in 2012, got into an altercation with singer Frank Ocean in 2013, was arrested for felony assault later that year in D.C. and was identified as the person who allegedly assaulted another adult male during a 2015 basketball game in Las Vegas; two months later a woman told police that Brown battered her in a Vegas hotel room during a spat over a cell phone. In August of 2016 Brown was arrested at his home in Los Angeles for suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.
Since then, former girlfriend Karrueche Tran was granted a five-year restraining order against Brown in 2017 after sharing threatening texts he’d allegedly sent her and last year he was the subject of a lawsuit in which four men said Brown and his associates “brutally and severely” beat them backstage at Dickies Arena.
Ye’s advocacy for Combs and Brown came during a seven-plus-hour X rant in which he repeatedly used homophobic (“fag–t a– n–gas”) and ableist slurs (“f–k ret-rds,” “dumb a– ret-rds”) and praised Nazi leader Adolf Hitler (“I love Hitler,” “I’m a Nazi”) while repeatedly denigrating the Jewish people (“you can get money with Jewish people but they always gonna steal.”)
In a statement on X, Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan A. Greenblatt responded by calling the comments, “Another egregious display of antisemitism, racism and misogyny from Ye on his X account this morning… We condemn this dangerous behavior and need to call it what it is: a flagrant and unequivocal display of hate.” Some of West’s antisemitic post were amplified and re-shared by white supremacist Nick Fuentes, who joined Ye at the White House in 2018 for the meeting with Trump, who the rapper said at the time was like a “father” to him.
Ye went on a hate-filled tweet spree on Friday morning (Feb. 7) in which he once again praised Nazis and Adolf Hitler, while insulting the LGBTQ community and people with disabilities with phrases such as “f–k ret-rds.”
West, whose once formidable music and fashion empire crumbled in 2022 after a string of hate-filled, antisemitic rants in which he stated “I like Hitler” and repeatedly embraced antisemitic stereotypes and hate speech, doubled-down on that rhetoric in the dozens of posts on Friday.
The all-cap tweets began early in the morning with a statement in which Ye claimed that he “turned down 3 photos this week with Make-A-Wish kids in wheelchairs,” followed by a further, full embrace of antisemitic language. “I love Hitler, how what b–ches,” Ye wrote, followed by “I’m a Nazi.”
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan A. Greenblatt responded to the posts on X with a statement that read: “Here we go again. Another egregious display of antisemitism, racism and misogyny from Ye on his X account this morning. Just a few years ago, ADL found that 30 antisemitic indents nationwide were tied to Kanye’s 2022 antisemitic rants. We condemn this dangerous behavior and need to call it what it is: a flagrant and unequivocal display of hate.”
He added, “We know this game all too well. Let’s call Ye’s hate-filled public rant for what it really is: a sad attempt for attention that uses Jews as a scapegoat. But unfortunately, it does get attention because Kanye has a far-reaching platform on which to spread his antisemitism and hate. Words matter. And as we’ve seen too many times before, hateful rhetoric can prompt real-world consequences.”
Ye’s spree also included the use of homophobic slurs (“f—ot a– n–gas”), ableist insults (“dumb a– ret-rds”) and the statement “all white people are racist.” A number of the tweets were marked “visibility limited” as they ran afoul of X’s rules against hateful conduct.
Among them were comments such as, “Jewish people actually hate white people and use Black people,” “you can get money with Jewish people but they always gonna steal” and “this is how I really feel, how I really felt and how I will always feel… f–k all of your f–k a– unfair business deals any Jewish person that does business with me needs to know I don’t like or trust any Jewish person and this is completely sober with no Hennesy [sic].”
West also referenced Twitter/X owner and White House advisor Elon Musk’s repeated use of a Nazi-like salute at an inauguration event for Donald Trump last month that was widely criticized (Musk responded to critics by saying they “need better dirty tricks”). “Elon stole my Nazi swag at the inauguration… yooo my guy get your own third rale,” Ye wrote, adding, “I can say Jew as much as I want. I can say Hitler as much as I want.”
Claiming he has no interest in “adjusting nothing I do or say for anybody,” West promised to “normalize talking about Hitler they [sic] way talking about killing ni–as has been normalized,” followed by “Hitler was sooooo fresh” and “call me Yaydolf Yitler.”
The string of hate speech was seemingly embraced by white supremacist Nick Fuentes who wrote “and we’re back” in response to one of Ye’s tweets; Ye posted a series of crying laughing emoji on that Fuentes comment. Fuentes, known for his antisemitic, misogynistic and white supremacist views, also reposted a few of Ye’s most incendiary tweets, including one that read: “all you pleeeeease come at me… that’s who we spot the k–ns… let these white people and Jewish people tell you what to do and say.”
Amidst Ye’s earlier embrace of Hitler and Nazi propaganda, experts spoke to Billboard about the dangers of someone with such a wide social media reach promoting antisemitic tropes at a time when hate crimes against Jews and Jewish institutions were at the highest point in recent memory.
“At a time when the community is dealing with this level of hatred to have one of the most well-known entertainers in our culture making statements like ‘I like Hitler’ and showing up on [Jones’] InfoWars is not just vile and offensive, but it’s also endangering Jews by giving people permission to express that kind of prejudice,” Greenblatt said at the time. “People in the mainstream did not make such overtly awful, inflammatory comments before like this.”
Ye also tweeted support for Diddy, who is currently behind bars as he awaits trial for sex trafficking charges. “Puff we love you,” he posted. “I stood up for Puff and I’m still winning 20 Grammies [sic] next year and doing the Super Bowl.”
In a podcast interview earlier this week, Ye claimed that he’d recently been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) after his wife said she thought his previous diagnosis of bipolar disorder was incorrect.
Over the past year, West had slowly begun to try and rebuild his music and fashion empire following its rapid meltdown after his 2022-2023 spree of antisemitic hate speech in interviews, which included a tweet announcing he was going “death con [sic] 3 on Jewish people,” repeated praise for Holocaust mastermind Adolf Hitler and the promotion of the white supremacist phrase “White Lives Matter” on shirts at Paris Fashion Week.
In the wake of those incidents, Ye was dropped by the Gap, Adidas, Balenciaga and his agents at CAA and his social media accounts were suspended or revoked in a fallout so wide-ranging that the former — and according to him, again — billionaire said in February of last year that he nearly went bankrupt.
At press time, the string of antisemitic statements continued unabated with Ye writing, “I don’t even know what the f–k anti semetic [sic] means… its just some bulls–t Jewish people made up to protect their bulls–t,” as well as a claim that he “channeled” misogynist influence Andrew Tate in his comments. Tate was released from five months of house arrest in Romania in January related to allegations of human trafficking and sex with a minor; Tate has denied the allegations.
After the devastating Eaton and Hurst fires impacted the community of Altadena in California, local residents share their firsthand stories of how the fires burned their homes down, how they’re trying to rebuild and more.
Keep watching this Billboard News special to learn more about those impacted.
Julian Perry:Just seeing around, like the waves of black smoke coming over the houses and looking down the street, and I can’t even see down the street, but I can see the house over there. You know, it was fully engulfed in flames.
Adam Clingmon:I lived here for 40 years. This was just my community. This is where I grew up, my neighbors, my friends, we got the emergency text around 6:30, maybe little earlier than that. Then we saw it on TV that there was a fire in Eaton Canyon. And maybe 15 minutes after that, we get another text saying that we have to evacuate.
The Edwards Family:Every house, except for three on our street, burned down. And then she lives pretty far. I remember … Yeah, one mile, far in the sense of a fire, but yeah, she lives exactly one mile away, west of it.
Julian Perry:Hearing the loud explosions and the pops and that crunch of the wood was, you know, was terrifying.
Adam Clingmon:Most people are freaking out. I’m staying calm thinking, like, “You know, we’ve had these before, it’ll be all right.” And so we start packing stuff up. My mom, my sister, my nephew, they evacuate. My dad wants to stay. So I was like, “I’m gonna stay as long as my dad stays.” But then around 8:39 o’clock, the power goes out, and that’s when it gets scary. And then we go outside, and we can see a huge glow on the mountain, a huge glow. That’s when I got scared.
Keep watching for more.
After news broke of the death of Murder Inc. Records co-founder Irv Gotti on Wednesday (Feb. 5), tributes poured in from the hip-hop world, including from the label where he got his start, Def Jam. Gotti started out in A&R at the hip-hop label, before co-founding the culture-dominating Murder Inc. imprint with his brother, Chris […]
Travis Kelce is on some Swifties’ bad sides after saying it will be an “honor” to have Donald Trump at the Super Bowl this weekend, with many fans calling the Kansas City Chiefs star’s comment “disappointing” considering the politician’s past remarks about Taylor Swift.
When asked at a Wednesday (Feb. 5) press conference to share his thoughts about the White House’s recent announcement that Trump will attend the Super Bowl — making him the first sitting president to ever do so — Kelce’s response was generally positive. “No matter who the president is, I know I’m excited because it’s the biggest game of my life,” the athlete said.
“It’s a great honor,” he added. “Having the president there — it’s the best country in the world — and that’s pretty cool.”
Kelce’s remark was bound to cause a stir, but fans of the New Heights podcaster’s superstar girlfriend were especially vocal, considering the twice-impeached POTUS’ past comments about Swift. For one, Trump posted “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT” on Truth Social in September after the 14-time Grammy winner endorsed his then-opponent Kamala Harris, and before that, the Republican politician’s campaign used artificially generated images falsely painting Swift as a MAGA supporter leading up to the 2024 election.
“Fence sitting to please the media and public for a man that has directly attacked your girlfriend is lamee,” one person wrote on X shortly after the press conference, while another fan posted, “if my boyfriend says its a great honor to have the man that slanders me constantly i would break up with him immediately.”
“this is disappointing,” added another Swiftie. “he has also publicly insulted your girlfriend multiple times.”
Billboard has reached out to Kelce’s reps for comment.
Not all responses to the Grotesquerie actor’s Trump comments have been negative, however. Some fans have come to Kelce’s defense, with one person writing on X, “he’s made it clear where he stands multiple times and one sh—y pr approved answer isn’t going to change that.”
“Am I supposed to give a f— if Travis kelce said playing the biggest game in his career in front of the president of the United States was an honor?” another supporter added. “you don’t have to agree or like trump to understand what Travis was saying. Yall spin everything in a negative way.”
The tight end’s remark about Trump’s attendance comes just four days ahead of Super Bowl LIX, which will take place at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, with the Chiefs aiming for a record third victory in a row as they play against the Philadelphia Eagles. After going to many of her boyfriend’s home games throughout the 2024-25 NFL season, Swift is expected to be present at the final match to cheer him on.
Beyond the Trump question, one topic that has come up a lot in Kelce’s pre-Super Bowl press obligations is the Eras Tour headliner. On Monday, the athlete played coy when reporters asked him about his plans to propose to Swift, whose work ethic he praised elsewhere in that day’s junket.
“I better hold up my end of the bargain, right?” he said of Swift. “She’s up there being the superstar that she is and never taking no for an answer and always working her tail off. I better match that energy for sure.”
See how fans are reacting to Travis Kelce’s comment about Donald Trump’s Super Bowl attendance below.
this is disappointing….aside from the fact that Trump a fascist lmao – he has also publicly has insulted your girlfriend multiple times https://t.co/sDbAKtJcnd— kayla (@SwiftBeSlaying) February 5, 2025
Yall can block me bc im not going to shit talk Travis, he’s made it clear where he stands multiple times and one shitty pr approved answer isn’t going to change that— Maci✨ (Taylor’s Version) (@TorturedRepDept) February 5, 2025
what the fuck else is he supposed to say? if he says anything other than this, he gets ripped to shreds. the man was in a pfizer commercial. he respects women. he’s with taylor swift. he said “not matter who is president.” that’s not an endorsement by ANY means. we all know how… https://t.co/eB38vLi5g4— Lauren 🌻 (@folklaurenx) February 5, 2025
Am I supposed to give a fuck if Travis kelce said playing the biggest game in his career in front of the president of the United States was an honor? you don’t have to agree or like trump to understand what Travis was saying. Yall spin everything in a negative way.— (Mackenzie’s version)🪷 (@kenziecae) February 5, 2025
In a few days, Donald Trump will become the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl — something Travis Kelce thinks is a “great honor,” despite the politician’s history with Taylor Swift.
During a press conference Wednesday (Feb. 5), the Kansas City Chiefs tight end — who will face off against the Philadelphia Eagles at Caesars Superdome with his teammates this weekend — was asked for his thoughts on the White House’s recent announcement that the POTUS will be in attendance. “That’s awesome,” Kelce said. “It’s a great honor.”
“No matter who the president is, I know I’m excited because it’s the biggest game of my life,” he continued. “Having the president there — it’s the best country in the world — and that’s pretty cool.”
Someone who will also be present at the Feb. 9 game will be the New Heights podcaster’s superstar girlfriend, who has famously opposed Trump’s administration for years. A couple months prior to the 2024 presidential election, for example, the “Fortnight” singer endorsed the twice-impeached billionaire’s Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris, and slammed the Trump campaign’s use of artificially generated images that falsely painted Swift as a MAGA supporter.
In response, Trump said the following in a Sept. 11 post on Truth Social: “I was not a Taylor Swift fan. It was just a question of time … She’s a very liberal person, she seems to always endorse a Democrat and she’ll probably pay a price for it in the marketplace.”
Four days later, he wrote, “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!”
Months before that, Trump brought up both the 14-time Grammy winner and Kelce in a Truth Social blast. “There’s no way [Swift] could endorse Crooked Joe Biden, the worst and most corrupt President in the History of our Country, and be disloyal to the man who made her so much money,” he wrote in February last year.
“Besides that, I like her boyfriend, Travis,” he added at the time. “Even though he may be a Liberal, and probably can’t stand me!”
Watch Travis Kelce share his thoughts on Donald Trump’s Super Bowl attendance below.
The devastating wildfires that ripped through Los Angeles last month destroyed thousands of homes, taking with them countless memories and precious possessions gathered over a lifetime. While it will take years to rebuild and begin to replace some of the things lost in two of the most destructive blazes to ever hit the city, there are small acts of kindness happening every day aimed at helping to ease the pain of all that unimaginable loss.
This week the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, revealed that she’d teamed up with Billie Eilish to create one of those moments. In an Instagram post on Tuesday (Feb. 4), actress/podcaster Markle described how she reached out to the “Birds of a Feather” singer to help a 15-year-old whose family lost everything in the fires.
“I was just told that something arrived that I have been waiting for,” Markle said in a selfie video. “Oh my God,” she added as she looked at a big pile of Eilish merch. She explained that a few weeks ago, she and Prince Harry visited Altadena — the historic neighborhood that was completely wiped out by one of the fires — and they spoke to a mom who had found just a few possessions left in the rubble.
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While speaking to her, she saw the woman’s teen daughter and found out that when they came back to look at their house for the first time, all the girl was looking for was her prized T-shirt from an Eilish concert she’d recently gone to. The teen said she’d left it in the washing machine as they fled. “And of course they now see their home and the washing machine [and] the dryer are ash… they’re not there anymore,” said Markle.
While she admitted she didn’t personally know Eilish, Markle promised the family that she’d figure out a way to replace the beloved shirt. “So I thought of everybody that I knew and I made a voice note and I was like, ‘Please, can someone get this voice note to Billie Eilish? Here’s what I’m asking,” she said.
Markle did what any sensible person would in that situation, she reached out to Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine and his wife, model Behati Prinsloo, for some help getting this make-a-wish “over the line.” Getting emotional, Markle flipped through the pile T-shirts and vinyl — “I don’t even know what all this stuff means, but it’s signed for her!” — holding up a lunch box with a gold star on it and asking, “Is that a thing? A lunch box thing?”
She sent a huge thank you to Levine, Prinsloo and Eilish for pitching in. “This is going to mean so much to her,” Markle added. “To everyone who is showing up for people in big and small ways to get through what’s happened in California. Just thank you so much. I’m going to go and email her mom now. Just wanted to share that with you guys.”
Native Angeleno Eilish performed at last weekend’s FireAid concert that raised an estimated $100 million for relief, opening the show with a Green Day collaboration and then returning later for her own set. The Eaton and Palisades fires, which killed 29 people and destroyed more than 16,000 homes and structures, reached 100% containment last week.
Check out Markle’s post below.