politics
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Azealia Banks is walking back her support for Donald Trump. The “212” rapper said on Wednesday (April 16) that she regrets casting a vote for Trump in last year’s presidential election. Banks took to X and wrote that “we made a f—ing mess” voting to put Trump back on the Oval Office. “Like this is […]
Canadian musicians and music organizations are speaking out ahead of the federal election on April 28.
Indie folk artist The Weather Station took to Instagram on April 15 to make an impassioned plea to Canadians not to check out of this election. She had just returned from a tour in the U.S., supporting her new album Humanhood, and told followers that now is the time to prevent Canada from following in America’s footsteps.
“I cannot articulate the level of relief I felt this time crossing the border back into Canada,” she says. “I think we have no lived understanding of how bad things could get.”
The Weather Station, whose name is Tamara Lindeman, has previously spoken out about the U.S. administration, citing authoritarianism, threats to free speech and the right to protest, and dismantling of public services serving climate, education, health care and social security.
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In her new video, she highlights the people fighting for those issues and to build community amidst the crisis south of the border.
“Loved the shows, loved all the people we met, but it’s so incredibly painful to see what people are going through,” she says. “People feel exhausted, they feel afraid and at risk, they feel powerless…a lot of people increasingly feel kind of silenced, which is really scary.”
Speaking to Billboard Canada about why she felt compelled to share the video, Lindeman adds that when it comes to this election, the stakes couldn’t be higher. “For an avalanche of reasons — from Trump’s threats of annexation, to how misinformation and MAGA-style politics are moving across the border, to the immensity of the climate crisis, to the affordability crisis across this country,” she elaborates.
She also points out Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre‘s desire to defund the CBC as particularly concerning for musicians, given how the public broadcaster supports Canadian music through radio airplay and events.
Her post received positive comments from fellow Canadian musicians like Jill Barber and Bells Larsen. Larsen, a folk singer-songwriter, last week shared that he cannot tour in the U.S. due to changes in Visa application policy that target trans musicians, requiring legal ID to match sex assigned at birth.
Canadian music organizations have also been emphasizing the importance of this election across party affiliations, against the backdrop of American politics.
Allistair Elliott, AFM vice president from Canada, sent out a message today to American Federation of Musicians members in Canada titled “Make Your Vote Count.”
“The upcoming election is critical for Canadians — no matter your political leanings, your vote matters,” Elliott writes. “Look south of the border to understand what can happen. In the last U.S. election, 32% of votes went to Republicans and 31% to Democrats. That means 68% of U.S. voters did not vote for the current president. True democracy is achieved when everyone votes. Plan, do your research, and most importantly, vote. It really matters, can, and will make a difference.”
The message stops short of endorsing particular parties or candidates, but highlights policy areas that affect musicians and arts workers, such as generative artificial intelligence, diversity equity and inclusion, trade tariffs, and strengthening public health care.
The Canadian Live Music Association published a note last week from President Erin Benjamin, emphasizing the importance of the live music industry in Canada to both the country’s economy and its cultural identity.
Benjamin called on supporters to send a letter to federal election candidates of all parties, calling on them to leverage Canadian music for the future.
The Canadian federal election is Monday, April 28. –Rosie Long Decter
Hamilton Indie Label Sonic Unyon Launches SUM Artist Management, Headed By Wayne Pett
Hamilton-based independent label and music company Sonic Unyon Records has unveiled its latest initiative, SUM Artist Management. It’s a new arm of the company dedicated to representing and developing artists, identifying and opening opportunities to them.
Taking the helm as both director of artist management at SUM Artist Management and label operations for Sonic Unyon Records is Wayne Petti, a well-known figure on the Canadian music scene as frontman for highly-regarded roots-rockers Cuff the Duke. At SUM, Petti will work in league with Sonic Unyon owner/CEO Tim Potocic, representing a musically diverse and notable roster of clients.
That includes roots-rock singer-songwriter Terra Lightfoot, Polaris Prize-winning auteur Owen Pallett, Hamilton shoegaze combo Basement Revolver, American feminist performance artist and electro-rocker JD Samson (Le Tigre), retro cover band Born in the Eighties, multi-instrumentalist and composer Michael Peter Olsen, and three bands at the forefront of an Indigenous wave in Canadian rock, Zoon, OMBIIGIZI and Status/Non-Status.
“We’re about constant evolution,” says Potocic. “As a label, we’ve signed newcomers and longtime favourites as well as bigger bands like Danko Jones and Big Wreck. All of that is super exciting and some of the best music we’ve ever released. At the same time, this is not an industry that rewards sitting still. It’s a challenging time and a tough landscape, but opportunities still abound. We’ve always believed in the value of our artists, and artists more generally, so artist management is the natural outgrowth of that.”
In an interview with Billboard Canada, Petti notes that, “I’ve been involved in artist management for close to 10 years now. I have a unique perspective on the music business having both experienced what it’s like to be a recording artist and everything that goes along with that, plus experiencing working with artists and helping to guide them through their own careers. I’m very much an ‘artist first’ type of manager. I don’t chase things just for the money. I want the artists I work for to feel supported. I want them to focus on being creative and unique artists and I’m just there to help facilitate their vision and goals artistically.”
“Our main goal at SUM is to work with unique artists regardless of whether they are Canadian, American or from somewhere else around the world,” he continues. “I think we’re off to a great start.”
Petti previously made a major mark in artist management during eight years with Hamilton-based Straight & Narrow Management, which handles major international stars The National, as well as Broken Social Scene, Hannah Georgas, Kevin Drew and Georgia Harmer.
The creation of SUM Artist Management aligns with Sonic Unyon’s expansion into industry sectors beyond the traditional duties of a record label. Sonic Unyon Distribution was founded in 1998 to distribute Sonic Unyon and other labels in Canada, going on to build a roster that included dozens of domestic imprints and the exclusive representation of over 200 international independent labels in Canada. –Kerry Doole
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Shein and Temu shoppers in the US, we have some bad news for you: yesterday’s price will not be today’s price beginning next week when the two Chinese-based companies raise their prices.
Spotted on The Verge, the two “ultra-cheap” retailers sent a letter to customers warning them of price adjustments due to Donald Trump’s abuse of tariffs.
Orange Mussolini has been on a roll when it comes to making our lives miserable, wrecking the global economy, while sending the US stock market into a free fall when he walked out into the White House rose garden and announced a bunch of “reciprocal” tariffs on what he called “liberation day.”
While he has since paused most of the tariffs, he raised tariffs on goods imported from China to 145 percent, with his brain-dead administration claiming that tariffs on other imports, such as electric vehicles, could hit 245 percent when added to existing tariffs.
To make matters worse for both companies, the US announced it would be eliminating the de minimis exception, which allowed goods valued under $800 to avoid tariffs. As you would expect, Shein and Temu both benefited from the exception for years.
After May 2, you can expect prices to increase on the affordable toys, clothing, and home goods that companies sell.
“Until April 25, prices will stay the same, so you can shop now at today’s rates,” Shein and Temu said to shoppers on their websites. “We’re doing everything we can to keep prices low and minimize the impact on you.”
Bruh, Donald Trump can kick rocks.
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Source: The Washington Post / Getty
Earlier this month, the Trump administration admitted in court that they accidentally deported a man from Maryland, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, to a notorious gang prison in El Salvador. And even though the Supreme Court ordered the administration to bring Garcia back in a rare 9-0 decision, Trump is openly defying their decision with the help of El Salvador President, Nayib Bukele.
On Monday (April 14), President Bukele was welcomed to the White House by Donald Trump. When asked by reporters whether or not he’d return the wrongly deported Garcia back to the United States where his family awaits, Bukele shot down any hopes of righting the Trump administration’s wrong by saying, “How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? Of course, I’m not going to do it. The question is preposterous.”
For the record, Garcia was convicted of no crime and was wrongfully accused of being a member of MS-13 by ICE when he was detained and deported last month. But with the Trump administration paying El Salvador $6 million annually to house deported immigrants in their notorious prison, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Bukele will provide cover for Trump who’s refusing to comply with the Supreme Court’s order to “facilitate” the return of Garcia.
Because of this administration’s reluctance to even attempt to persuade Bukele to return Garcia, rumors have been circulating around social media that Garcia has been killed and both parties are doing what they can to prevent that news from coming out as the detainment, deportation and death of an innocent man would be a bad look for everyone involved in the situation.
According to Crooks and Liars, a Trump official pushed back on the claim, but wouldn’t provide any evidence to support the claim.
Per Crooks and Liars:
Michael Kozak, a senior official in the State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, said yesterday that Garcia is “alive” but will remain at the notorious mega-torture prison.
Donald once again said in the Oval Office meeting that he was open to sending American citizens convicted of violent crimes to Bukele’s prison in El Salvador.
Trump had a similar response when Bukele first offered to jail convicted American criminals in February. “I’m all for it,” Trump said, adding that his attorney general was studying whether the idea was legally feasible. “If it’s a homegrown criminal, I have no problem, no,” he said, adding: “I’m talking about violent people. I’m talking about really bad people.”
If Trump can send an innocent man with no due process to a prison in another country and claim the U.S. no longer has any jurisdiction to facilitate their return and is now saying he wants to send “homegrown” U.S. citizens there too, we’re officially entering the fascist era in American history.
Trump even encouraged Bukele to build five more prisons to house the “homegrown” criminals he plans on sending to El Salvador throughout the next few years. Y’all already know which marginalized groups of people this administration will be targeting for deportation regardless of citizen status.
Be afraid because if Trump is blatantly thumbing his nose at the Supreme Court, what’s left to stop him from carrying out his obvious fascist agenda?
What do y’all think about Trump and Bukele’s refusal to return an innocent man back to the United States? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Source: SOPA Images / Getty
A member of the Black Americans for Trump Coalition and a Republican strategist pondered President Donald Trump’s policies on tariffs, describing the messaging around them as “chaotic.” Melik Abdul, the Black Americans for Trump Coalition member in question, spoke with CNN about the implementation of global tariffs and the effect it’s having on the nation and the economy.
Melik Abdul was a guest on CNN’s Table For Five program discussing President Donald Trump and some of the conversations he’s been having surrounding his policies, citing that people threw their support behind the longtime mogul based on the perception of his business acumen. However, Abdul appeared to be disillusioned with President Trump’s handling of the tariffs situation and didn’t meet the expectations he and others had when they voted for him.
“It is what I can only describe as a very chaotic week. Because you’re right, a lot of the things that you pointed out, Donald Trump, they were full-throated in this, and this is the thing: it was the certainty that this is going to work,” Abdul began.
He added, “And as the market got that little bump and they say, ‘See, this is what deal-making is, this is art of the deal.’ and then we see a different story. And it is the messaging where you have Donald Trump saying one thing. You may have Ka
roline Leavitt saying another thing, you may have Lutnick saying another thing, you may have [Treasury Secretary Scott] Bessent saying another thing.”
The CNN segment and Melik Abdul’s commentary can be viewed here.
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Photo: Getty
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Source: Aaron M. Sprecher / Getty / Stephen A. Smith
The internet is screaming at Stephen A. Smith that no one wants him to run for president.
Stephen A. Smith is growing increasingly bored with dropping sports hot takes and being mad at LeBron James.
He is now setting his sights on the world of politics, as he has been making appearances on Fox News, The View, and NewsNation to express his disdain for the current Democratic party and Republicans, especially Donald Trump.
Appearing on This Week on ABC, Smith told co-host Jonathan Karl that he is so fed up with Democrats that he has “no choice” but to consider a run for the White House.
“I have no choice, because I’ve had elected officials, and I’m not going to give their names, elected officials coming up to me. I’ve had folks who are pundits come up to me. I’ve had folks that got a lot of money, billionaires and others that have talked to me about exploratory committees and things of that nature. I’m not a politician. I’ve never had a desire to be a politician,” Smtih said.
Smith claims that numerous people are, including his pastor, have come up to him, suggesting that he should run.
“Here’s the reality: People, literally people, have walked up to me, including my own pastor, for crying out loud, who has said to me, ‘You don’t know what God has planned for you. At least show the respect to the people who believe in you, who respect you, who believe that you can make a difference in this country, to leave the door open for any possibilities some to three years down the line.’ And that’s what I’ve decided to do.”
https://x.com/RpsAgainstTrump/status/1911443893637230820
Sure Stephen.
Social Media Does Not Want Stephen A. Smith To Run For President
Following the segment, folks have hopped on X, formerly Twitter to ask WHO are these people telling screaming Stephen to run for president and to let the First Take host that no one with an ounce of common sense wants him to run for the highest office in the land.
“I’m at the gym where Fox News is on. The headline says “Stephen A. Smith leaves door open for a 2028 presidential bid.” My first reaction: Who? So I look him up,” one user on X wrote.
Author Dan Winslow wrote, “Dear @stephenasmith This country cannot afford another TV personality. Please save your BS for TV and radio.”
“If you vote for Stephen A Smith in an type of presidential race, somebody gotta shoot you in both hands dawg,” another post read.
Yeah, so basically, no, we don’t need a another loud mouth celebrity to be president.
https://x.com/2Strong2Silence/status/1911782352423911497
You can see more reactions from the gallery below.
Sen. Bernie Sanders made an unexpected appearance at Coachella 2025.
The 83-year-old Vermont independent took the stage at the Indio, California, festival on Saturday (April 12) to introduce Clairo and deliver a politically charged message.
“This country faces some very difficult challenges, and the future of what happens to America is dependent upon your generation,” Sanders told the crowd, according to Time. “Now you can turn away and ignore what goes on, but if you do that, you do so at your own peril. We need you to stand up and fight for justice, to fight for economic justice, social justice, and racial justice.”
At one point, after referencing the “President of the United States,” the audience responded with boos. “I agree,” he replied.
The longtime politician went on to criticize President Donald Trump’s stance on climate change. “[Trump] thinks that climate change is a hoax. He’s dangerously wrong,” the senator said. “And you and I are going to have to stand up to the fossil fuel industry and tell them to stop destroying this planet.”
Trending on Billboard
Sanders also addressed wealth inequality and corporate power. “We have an economy today that is working very well for the billionaire class, but not for working families,” he said, calling for action against insurance and pharmaceutical companies. “Healthcare is a human right,” he added.
The senator praised Clairo for using her platform to advocate for critical issues. “I’m here because Clairo has used her prominence to fight for women’s rights, to try to end the terrible, brutal war in Gaza, where thousands of women and children are being killed,” he said.
Later that evening, Sanders reflected on his appearance through X, posting a photo from the stage. “Thank you, Coachella. I enjoyed introducing the great @clairo tonight,” he wrote. “These are tough times. The younger generation has to help lead in the fight to combat climate change, protect women’s rights, and build an economy that works for all, not just the few.”
Earlier in the day, Sanders appeared at Los Angeles’s Gloria Molina Grand Park as part of his ongoing “Fighting Oligarchy: Where We Go From Here” tour alongside Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The event also featured including Neil Young, Joan Baez and Maggie Rogers.
The Sanders-AOC tour has drawn thousands at rallies across Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and Utah. At a March 7 stop in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Sanders invited musician Laura Jane Grace to the stage to perform a provocative new song titled “Your God (God’s D—),” which sparked controversy online for its profane lyrics and religious themes.
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Source: MANDEL NGAN / Getty / Donald Trump / Cheryl Hines / Robert F Kennedy Jr. / UFC
Actress Cheryl Hines, the wife of anti-vax conspiracy theorist quack Robert F. Kennedy Jr., had a moment at a recent UFC event involving Donald Trump that would make her fictional husband on Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry David, laugh out loud.
Tanking the global economy, wiping away Americans’ 401Ks, “running the FBI,” firing federal employees for no good damn reason, and completely mishandling a measles outbreak is a lot of hard work. So, to blow off some steam and have some fun, Donald Trump and his cronies took a company outing to the one place they knew they would be accepted and applauded for all their hard work: a UFC event.
It’s been a week of so much “winning” going on (we’re being sarcastic, by the way) in the United States, so what better way to celebrate than to watch a bunch of men beat each other brains out?
Donald Trump, flanked by Texas Senator Ted Cruz, the proxy president Elon Musk, and his two highly unqualified picks, FBI Director Kash Patel and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., attended UFC 314 in Miami, Florida.
The action in the octagon isn’t what is currently the talk of social media. It’s a moment that happened in the seats between Trump and Hines.
The aloof orange menace was doling out handshakes before the event kicked off, and he visibly snubbed Hines in what was truly an awkward moment that would have fit perfectly in Curb Your Enthusiasm.
If you look at the video in slow motion, it didn’t look like an accident either.
https://x.com/donwinslow/status/1911287559462027319
X Is Clowning Cheryl Hines For Getting Snubbed
Users on X, formerly Twitter, have been clowning Hines following the snubbing.
“Trump just totally ignored @CherylHines at UFC….love this for her,” one account said on X.
Another user wrote, “Donald Trump snubbing Cheryl Hines is literally a real life Curb Your Enthusiasm moment.”
Indeed it was.
Oh well, this is what you get when you hitch your wagon to an anti-vaxxer and a felon president who is blatantly racist.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
2. Howling
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Source: Dave Kotinsky / Getty / Adin Ross
Donald Trump supporters clearly are broken; Adin Ross is a good example of that.
Just days after complaining that Trump and his stupid tariffs cost him “eight figures,” streamer and all-around goofball Adin Ross is still a believer in Orange Mussolini.
During a recent Kick stream, Ross told the losers still watching him to believe in Trump, despite Felon 47 wrecking the global economy by showering the world with tariffs before eventually caving and calling for a 90-day pause on some of them while still keeping a 145% tariff on China.
“The tariff shit is a really good thing. All these other countries got tariffs on us. Be patient. Let [Trump] fix the country. The country’s sick. Let him take his medicine, and the country’s gonna get fixed.”
Adin Ross Doesn’t Seem To Understand What Is Going On
Of course, Ross sounds as idiotic as his MAGA lord and savoir because it’s not as simple as he makes it seem. Also, Trump hit our major trading partners with tariffs using a bullsh*t tariff equation that economists discovered contained an error.
“You guys see the stock market? Boom, green just like that,” he continued. “You understand why he’s a good president? Cause no presidents ever dropped nuts like that. Like, bro, that’s why we’re respected, bro. Motherfuckers can’t bitch us around and punk us. I’m being real. Stop. We all voted for him. Believe in our president, bro.”
“You don’t gotta like me, you don’t even gotta like Trump, but he’s your president. So respect him, bro. He’s in office, alright?” he added.
Ummm, no, we don’t have to respect him, Adin.
Ross refers to the quick rebound the stock market experienced with the pause announcement. Still, things quickly went left, with it dipping back into the red. The dollar’s value recently fell as the markets reacted to China upping its tariffs to 125 percent on US exports, and bond yields rose.
According to Axios, the only reason Trump called for a 90-day pause on his tariffs was pressure from CEOs, Republican allies, and the shaky financial and bonds markets.
Trump’s call for a pause also raised alarm bells, with some Democrats accusing the current president of manipulating the market.
Welp.
Ross is currently getting clowned on social media for being the MAGA simp that he is.
You can see those reactions in the gallery below.
Canadian singer-songwriter Bells Larsen is cancelling his forthcoming U.S. tour after the Trump administration made it impossible for him to travel in the country as a trans man.
In a lengthy post to his Instagram on Friday (April 11), Larsen revealed that, according to an email from the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), he would not be able to apply for a travel visa to the United States since his Canadian passport designates his gender rather than his biological sex.
“To put it super plainly, because I’m trans (and have an M on my passport), I can’t tour in the States,” Larsen wrote. “I hesitate to include a ‘right now’ or an ‘anymore’ at the end of my previous sentence, because — in this sociopolitical climate — I truly don’t know which phrasing holds more truth.”
Trending on Billboard
Billboard has reached out to the AFM for comment.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigrant Services (USCIS) announced at the beginning of April that they had updated their policy at the outset of April to only recognize biological sex on immigration forms, in accordance with the Trump administration’s executive order requiring travel documents (including passports and visas) to designate a person’s sex as assigned at birth.
In his post, Larsen admits that he was already feeling trepidatious about touring the U.S. amidst an onslaught of anti-trans initiatives being pursued by the current administration, especially when it came to the administration’s treatment of trans people crossing the border. “If random people are getting randomly questioned/stopped/detained at borders, how can I — as someone wanting to make money abroad by exhibiting my lived experience as a trans person — expect to pass go and get out of jail free?” he asked. “My plan was to tour with harm reduction in mind.”
Larsen said that after speaking with two separate immigration lawyers and the AFM, he decided that there was “no way to move forward” with his scheduled tour, despite his eagerness to see his U.S. fans. “This new policy has crushed my dreams,” he wrote. “I’m cradling a very broken heart and the realization that I don’t know if or when I will be able to tour in the States again.”
The singer-songwriter was set to bring his forthcoming new album Blurring Time stateside this June, with dates in Boston, New York City and Los Angeles throughout the month. The new LP deals extensively with Larsen’s experience transitioning while using vocal recordings from both before and after his transition (his “high” and “low” voices, as he calls them in a statement) to create harmonies between his former and current self. The latest single from that album, “Might,” was released on Wednesday (April 9).
“I was hoping that the album would help me break into the US music market and connect with cool, likeminded American musicians,” he wrote. “More than anything, thought, I just really wanted to perform my album for queer and trans people in the US who saw their stories reflected in my own.”
Bells Larsen’s new album Blurring Time drops on April 25 via Royal Mountain Records. Read his full statement on his cancelled U.S. tour below: