Tag: Kanye West

Billboard issues apology to Taylor Swift after including distasteful Kanye West clip in video package

Billboard’s completely unforced error rightfully landed them in hot water.

Billboard has been rolling out its ranking of the Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century, naming Taylor Swift in the No. 2 spot on Tuesday.

In the video created to celebrate the 34-year-old’s achievements, Billboard made the baffling decision to include a clip from Kanye West’s music video for the song “Famous” where he included a wax figurine of a naked Swift and the line “I made that [expletive] famous.”

The music magazine faced massive backlash online for the unforced and head-scratching error as the duo have a fraught history, dating back to 2009 when West interrupted Swift on stage at the MTV Music Awards.

Understandably, fans of the singer were furious. Billboard eventually deleted the video and re-posted it without the clip on Wednesday, but it took until 1am ET — over a day later — on Thursday morning to issue an apology to the The Tortured Poets Department singer.

“We are deeply sorry to Taylor Swift and all of our readers and viewers that in a video celebrating Swift’s achievements, we included a clip that falsely depicted her,” Billboard said on social media. “We have removed the clip from our video and sincerely regret the harm we caused with this error.”

With #BillboardIsOver trending on X (formerly Twitter) over the last two days, it’s unclear how well the apology will go over.

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Ex-Giant Brandon Marshall: Taylor Swift had Kanye West booted from Super Bowl

Former New York Giants WR Brandon Marshall claims Taylor Swift had Kanye West removed from his seats in front of her suite at the Super Bowl.

The Super Bowl LVIII sideshow known as Taylor Swift could have been extra spicy had the singer not flexed her muscles and had a rival booted from the venue.

At least, that’s according to former New York Giants wide receiver Brandon Marshall.

During a Monday episode of I Am Athlete’s “Paper Route” podcast, Marshall claimed to have inside knowledge of an alleged incident between Taylor and rapper Kanye West that played out before kickoff.

Marshall said that West purchased a pair of tickets for him and his wife, Bianca Censori, that were right in front of Swift’s luxury suite, which had been paid for by Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

After finding out about West’s plan, Swift allegedly made some phone calls and had West booted from Allegiant Stadium.

“Kanye West pulls up to Vegas. Kanye West buys a ticket right in front of her booth,” Marshall said. “He had a mask on with his logo on the mask — typical Kanye. Taylor Swift gets (expletive) off. She boom boom makes a call or two. Everybody’s involved. He gets kicked out the stadium. He was trying to leverage her celebrity.”

Despite Marshall’s claims that West was kicked out of the stadium, he was seen several times throughout the night.

The Swift-West beef dates back to 2009 when Kanye interrupted her acceptance speech for Best Female Video at the MTA VMA’s, famously telling the audience that it was Beyoncé who deserved the award instead. The feud was reignited in 2016 when West crudely included a lyric about Swift in his song “Famous.”

At the time, West claimed Swift had given her permission to use the lyric, which she later denied. A phone call between the two was leaked, at which point Swift alleged that it was illegally recorded and manipulated.

“Trash takes itself out every single time,” she said at the time.

Neither Swift nor West’s representatives have confirmed or denied Marshall’s claim.

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Adidas just announced exactly when it’ll start selling Yeezy sneakers again

The Yeezys are back. For now.

Well, folks. Not only is Adidas back in the business of selling Yeezy, but we also now know exactly when the time is coming.

Since October when the brand first cut Kanye West and halted the sale of his Yeezy products, people have been debating about what the brand should do with the leftover inventory that it has on tap.

After making the decision to separate from West, Adidas went on ahead with the production orders made on Yeezy products in a move that the brand says was made to keep folks in the supply chain working. That created billions of dollars in inventory that the brand needed to do, well, something with.

That “something” ended up turning into selling it. Last week, reports surfaced from The Washington Post about the brand deciding to sell West’s wares again to make up for losses. But it’d also pledged to donate a “portion” of the proceeds to charities in relation to the people that he hurt with his hateful language.

On Friday, we got more details on exactly when Yeezy would be back on the shelf and exactly where some of the proceeds from sales were going.

Adidas is selling Yeezy again starting on May 1 and a “significant amount” of the proceeds from the sales will be donated to charities such as the Anti-Defamation League, the Philonise & Keeta Floyd Institute for Social Change and more.

If Adidas is going to sell Yeezy, then I guess this is how the company should do it.

It still feels like there’s some key information missing here, though. There should be a more complete list of charities that the brand is donating to made available to the public. And, most importantly, it’d also be amazing to know exactly how much these charities are getting while West still racks up that 15 percent royalty.

But those are details that will probably be sorted out down the line. In the meantime, Yeezy is officially back at Adidas — albeit, for a limited time.

Adidas is reportedly going to begin selling Yeezy sneakers again, and that’s not a good look

This is not a good look for Adidas.

Remember those baseless rumors about Kanye West and Adidas getting back together again after the brand severed its relationship last year with the fashion mogul?

Well, it turns out those rumors may not have been so baseless after all.

Adidas isn’t working with West again, but the brand is reportedly going to begin selling his Yeezy sneakers again in the near future, according to The Washington Post.

During a company call on Thursday, newly minted CEO Bjorn Gulden reportedly told shareholders that the company decided to sell the Yeezy sneakers and donate proceeds to charity.

That, of course, means Kanye West himself will get a piece, too. And that’s exactly why this whole thing is messy.

Let’s dive into the details.

LOOK: Kim Kardashian at NBA games through the years

Celebrity and businesswoman Kim Kardashian was briefly married to former NBA forward Kris Humphries and is an LA fan since Lamar Odom wore the Lakers. Check out some pictures of Kardashian at NBA games through the years.

Kim Kardashian attended the 104-101 Lakers’ win in Game 4 vs. the Golden State Warriors. The celebrity and businesswoman. who’s had several family connections with the NBA (including a marriage to forward Kris Humphries), has watched quite a few games live over the years.

Check out some pictures of Kardashian at NBA games below.

Jaylen Brown to be represented by M88 as first athlete client

The Celtics star and M88 hope ” to create and develop opportunities for Brown in both the entertainment and strategic partnership spaces”.

Amid a flurry of interviews by star Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown that have caught fans’ attention comes news about his representation.

Deadline’s Matt Grobar reported Brown is signing on with M88, an agency that represents “storytellers, actors, writers and multi-hyphenates.”

The change is a shift away from Brown’s previous relationship with Donda Sports, which he left in October after the most recent controversy surrounding Donda founder Ye (formerly, Kanye West) dominated the news cycle. Grobar notes Brown continues to be repped by Jason Glushon of Glushon Sports Management and The Lede Company.

The Georgia native is reportedly the first athlete to work with M88, which aims “to create and develop opportunities for Brown in both the entertainment and strategic partnership spaces” that the former Cal-Berkeley standout frequently focuses his off-court endeavors on.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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No, Kanye West isn’t coming back to Adidas, so please stop paying attention to baseless rumors on the internet

Don’t believe everything you read on the internet. Wow, I sound like a boomer.

Over the last few weeks or so, you’ve probably seen a ton of rumors about Kanye West potentially returning to Adidas.

It all stems from Adidas facing major losses with leftover Yeezy products after the brand cut West at the tail end of 2022 for being antisemitic and anti-Black. Yeezy products became an essential piece to Adidas and now they’re unable to sell any of it.

So, the thinking goes, if Adidas brings Kanye back, gives him a raise and sells their remaining Yeezy products, they’ll still be able to make a profit off of what the brand currently has sitting in storage somewhere.

And, well, I hate to bearer of bad news — or, uh, maybe not so bad news? — but this isn’t a thing. It’s just the internet internetting.

Let’s dive into where this is all coming from and why.

Celtics president Brad Stevens speaks on Jaylen Brown’s recent entanglements in Ye, Kyrie scandals

Stevens’ interlocutor, the Globe’s Dan Shaughnessy, has a bone to pick with Brown regardless.

Star Boston Celtics wing Jaylen Brown is no stranger to using his platform for good but has recently found some of his social media activity under scrutiny for ties to people promoting hateful views. This caught the attention of Boston Globe sportswriter Dan Shaughnessy, who wrote that he has “no interest in reading or hearing (Brown’s) well-intentioned words promoting social justice and spreading love” after the incidents in question.

“You’ve had three chances in the last month to denounce antisemitism and in each instance, you balked or chose to support your misguided friends, Kanye West, a.k.a “Ye,” and Kyrie Irving,” added the Globe reporter.

For clarity, Shaughnessy refers to the scandal that enveloped Ye after making antisemitic comments on social media, and Irving’s sharing of an antisemitic video he has since disavowed support for the hateful sentiments it contains.

Celtics Lab 151: On NBA (un)accountability and unseemly entanglements from Ime Udoka to Kyrie Irving with Dave Zirin

The Nets and Celtics have been entangled for nearly a decade, but antisemitism and Ime Udoka have added a dark new wrinkle.

The Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets have maintained a strange link for nearly a decade now with the two teams’ fate inextricably entangled first through the deal that sent Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to the Nets, then later through the stars the Celtics drafted from the draft assets Brooklyn traded them.

But the connection didn’t stop there. Kyrie Irving left Boston to join the Nets, and Boston hired Ime Udoka from the Brooklyn staff to be their head coach. Now, the ties have taken an even stranger, more concerning turn.

The Nets are poised to hire Udoka, who is currently suspended by Boston for misconduct. And Irving’s dalliances with a thread of antisemitism is creeping through the NBA media sphere and touching the Celtics by way of Ye (Kanye West).

To talk about that resurgent antisemitism in a broader, historical context, as well as the more immediate impact of Brooklyn perhaps poaching Udoka, the hosts of the CLNS Media “Celtics Lab” podcast got together with The Nation’s Dave Zirin to dive deep into some heavy material.

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Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear what Zirin had to say about his new article on Irving, as well as Udoka, Jaylen Brown’s Donda ties, and more in an important episode of the Celtics Lab.

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Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Jaylen Brown-backed tourney for Donda Academy canceled due to Ye West ties

The event, which was to be played at HBCU Morehouse College, was canceled over Ye’s ‘divisive and unproductive statements’.

Star Boston Celtics shooting guard Jaylen Brown has been working to secure the Donda Academy basketball team opponents after the antisemitic diatribe of its founder, Ye West, has caused many organizations and individuals to distance themselves from the entertainer in recent weeks.

The Celtics star, who himself left Donda Sports talent representation as a result of West’s words, had lined up a tourney with The Skill Factory, a Georgia-based prep squad to be held at Morehouse College, an Atlanta-area HBCU, on Nov. 6. But now, per Floor and Ceiling’s Wilko Martínez-Cachero, that event has been canceled per Cedric Mobley, Morehouse College spokesman.

Brown responded to news of the cancelation, confirmed by the College, by tweeting that it was an “unfortunate retraction” even while “the kids and family appreciate the consideration. Brown also noted he was “currently looking for another solution.”