Kanye West is arguing that his decision to fire Benjamin Deshon Provo was justifiable after the former security guard sued him, earlier this year. Provo claims West let him go for refusing to shave his dreadlocks after the Yeezy mogul and his own manager, John Hicks, demanded he do so. He previously worked at Donda Academy and Sunday Service events as well as at a Yeezy warehouse in 2021.
“Defendants are informed and believe, and based on such information and belief allege that Defendants were justified in doing any and/or all of the acts alleged in the Complaint,” Ye’s lawyers argued in response to the claims, as caught by In Touch Weekly. In turn, they want a California judge to dismiss the case.
LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 21: Kanye West on March 21, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Bellocqimages/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
As for Provo’s lawsuit, his attorney argued that “Hicks approached Plaintiff and stated, ‘Kanye said, ‘Tell the one with the dreads to shave his head or he is fired.’ Plaintiff refused to shave his head, and as a result thereof, his employment was terminated.” Provo is also accusing West of allegedly discriminating against Black employees and expressing “negative beliefs associated with prominent Black leaders.” For instance, he claims West banned books by Martin Luther King Jr. from the school. Provo and his team further claimed: “Kanye and members of his management team subjected Provo and other Black employees to less favorable treatment than their white counterparts. Specifically, Kanye frequently screamed at and berated Black employees, while in contrast, he never so much as raised his tone of voice toward white staff.”
Provo is just one of several of West’s former employees filing civil cases against him. Others have claimed Donda Academy wouldn’t allow students to go outside, use chairs, and much more. Be on the lookout for further updates on Kanye West on HotNewHipHop.
Jennifer Lopez is no stranger to the spotlight. Her multifaceted career, spanning music, film, and fashion, made her a household name. However, J.Lo’s journey has been marked by a series of scandals and controversies that captivated fans and critics alike. These Jennifer Lopez scandals ranged from high-profile relationships and legal battles to issues with other celebrities. They somewhat shaped her public persona and offered a glimpse into the tumultuous side of fame.
The Jennifer Lopez and Diddy Nightclub Shooting Scandal
Jennifer and Diddy were involved in an explosive relationship from 1999 to 2001. The pair first met while producing the actress’s first album, On The 6, and soon hit it off. However, things took a bad turn in December 1999 after J. Lo and Diddy got involved in a shooting incident outside a nightclub in New York. The drama began when the police stopped the couple and two other members of their party in their car while driving away from the shooting scene. According to reports, the cops found a gun in the vehicle and took all four in for questioning. They were charged with criminal possession of a weapon and stolen property. However, after considering all the evidence, the officials dropped all charges against Jennifer that same day. In the end, the scandal gave J.Lo negative publicity, which she continues to deal with today amid Diddy’s recent legal troubles.
Jennifer Lopez Sings for Turkmenistan President
In 2013, Jennifer Lopez was in a PR scandal after performing at a Turkmenistan event. The singer sang “Happy Birthday” to then-president Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov during the gig. At the time, Human Rights Watch ranked the former Soviet Republic’s government as one of the world’s most repressive leaders. Also, the president was tagged as an authoritarian who imprisoned and tortured citizens who criticized his regime. Given the leader’s bad reputation, J.Lo’s performance landed her in hot water. Human rights activists criticized the celebrity for not only receiving nearly $2 million for her gig but also indirectly standing for human rights violations. Eventually, Jennifer apologized via a statement, noting that she wouldn’t have attended the concert if she had known the country’s human rights record.
Jennifer Lopez & Ojani Noa’s Alleged Sex Tape Scandal
One of Jennifer Lopez’s scandals that stands out to date is the sex tape scandal involving the Marry Me star and her first husband, Ojani Noa. The former couple tied the knot in 1997, but their marriage ended quickly in 1998. At the time of their separation, Ojani had signed a non-disclosure agreement with the singer. The document prohibited him from revealing any personal details of their time together. However, Jennifer sought legal action after Ojani threatened to make the sex tape from their honeymoon public. At the time, Ojani’s business partner, Ed Meyer, revealed that there were loopholes in the contract, adding that they were going to make the tape public.
“We are going to produce a DVD and also have a streaming release of JLo home footage. There is a revealing video of her with lack of clothing and in sexual situations, especially in the hotel footage from the honeymoon,” he told In Touch. However, the court eventually obtained the 11-hour-long footage from Ojani and ensured he didn’t make copies, stopping his malicious plans.
In June 2024, Jennifer made the headlines after receiving harsh criticism from Meghan McCain. In an episode of her Citizen McCain podcast, the former The View co-host described the pop star as a deeply unpleasant person. “I, too, share similar negative stories that apparently the world does too. I actually feel bad right now because we’re turning to a point where there’s bullying happening to J.Lo… She just is a deeply unpleasant person,” Meghan said. The political commentator recalled an off-putting encounter with the pop star when she appeared on The View. Meghan remembered Jennifer bringing the biggest entourage she had ever seen. “Her team was more than Kim Kardashian and the president. I just don’t really understand why it was needed,” she said. Meghan also noted that Jennifer wasn’t nice during her time on the show.
Jennifer Lopez Caught In Shocking Cheating Scandal
In 2017, Jennifer Lopez was embroiled in another scandal. This time, the drama was all thanks to the movie star’s then-partner, Alex “A-Rod” Rodriguez. Reports revealed the former baseball star allegedly exchanged a string of sordid X-rated texts with the much younger fitness instructor Lauren Hunter. Although Lauren claimed she wasn’t intimate with A-Rod after he started dating Jennifer, she said he begged her for X-rated photos a week after the power couple went public with their romance. As expected, the cheating scandal reportedly left J.Lo feeling devastated. Insiders claimed the star was caught off guard, heartbroken and in disbelief that A-rod would betray her.
Jennifer Lopez’s Audition Drama
Over the years, Jennifer has been involved in a series of dramas involving her and her backup dancers. In 2022, she was the center of attention for the wrong reasons after reportedly conducting a dance audition for her tour. Glee star Heather Morris called out Jennifer Lopez, claiming she had the most bizarre selection process. During an appearance on the Just Sayin’ With Justin Martindale podcast, Heather claimed Jennifer cut potential dancers based on astrological signs. “She walks in the room and said, ‘Thank you so much, you guys have worked so hard. By a show of hands if there are any Virgos in the room, can you just raise your hand?’” Heather explained. In the end, Jennifer allegedly asked them to leave after a full day of auditioning.
In February 2024, Ayo Edebiri and Jennifer were booked to appear together on a Saturday Night Live episode. However, ahead of their SNL duties, an audio clip of Ayo on the Scam Goddess podcast in 2020 resurfaced. The comedian referred to Jennifer’s career as a scam in the clip. “Today I was actually thinking about one of my favorite scams of all time because J. Lo is performing at the Super Bowl Halftime Show,” Ayo said at the time, as Jennifer was set to perform at the Super Bowl LIV halftime show with Shakira. “Her whole career is one long scam… She thinks she’s on multiple tracks, but it’s not her. I think she thinks that she’s still good even though she’s not singing for most of these songs.” However, Jennifer later revealed that Ayo tearfully apologized after her past comments resurfaced.
BIGBABYGUCCI is one artist that is someone you need to be paying close attention to out of the underground scene. The guy is bringing some otherworldly beats to the table that will transport you to another dimension. Hailing from Charlotte, North Carolina, GUCCI has not received a lot of coverage here on the site unfortunately. But he is gaining a lot of momentum as of late. The eight-year veteran is inching closer and closer to releasing his new project BABY 5, which will supersede the 2023’s When You Go To Sleep. Over the weekend, BIGBABYGUCCI offered up a track from it called “Balenciaga Store Closed”.
This track provides tons of flexes and violence over space-like instrumental that is wavy beyond belief. There are also some fun bars peppered throughout the single as well, lending some sticky lines. “She want some d**k, girl, leave me alone / I’m gone to the bread, you know I’m a dog / She hop in the bed, she just like a frog“. Besides “Balenciaga Store Closed” being a great taster to the album, BABY 5 is also a big deal for other reasons. This is coming right off the heels of his own label’s first project Better Temperatures, Vol. 1. Things are definitely going well for GUCCI, and they will be even more so on July 15.
Listen To “Balenciaga Store Closed” By BIGBABYGUCCI
Quotable Lyrics:
All-black mask, n**** I feel like I’m Darth Vader Hit his leg, arm, shoulder, make him do the macarena And my cup so toxic I’ll see you later in this V8 turbo, I’ma skrrt on a hater And no—ain’t nobody like me I’m BABY 5, baby, all these n****s gon’ try to hype me
Martin Lawrence says he never suffered a stroke and the rumors suggesting as such are completely unfounded. He discussed his health during an interview with Sway In The Morning, last Friday, to promote his new film with Will Smith, Bad Boys: Ride or Die. The rumors have been running rampant throughout the press tour.
“There’s a rumor out there that I had a stroke. Man, and that’s totally not true,” he insisted on the show. “So, I just wanna clear that up. But I thank everybody for the concern and the love, and just thank you. But Marty’s all good.” From there, Smith joined in to joke: “There’s also a rumor, and I wasn’t gonna bring it up, that you’re a clone. That was the one that I heard. That you’ve been cloned.” In the comments section, fans defended the legendary actor. “Martin said he’s alright then let him be! He looks great, he’s older now, no one is going to look exactly the same. It’s called life! Let that man live. You speak life into your words…” one fan wrote. Another countered: “I know Martin is saying he’s good but I feel like bro is moving in slow motion for some reason.”
Martin Lawrence and Will Smith yelling at each other while holding machine guns to defend themselves in a scene from the film ‘Bad Boys’, 1995. (Photo by Columbia Pictures/Getty Images)
It’s not the first time Lawrence has had to dispel rumors about his health. Speaking with Hot 97’s Ebro in the Morning, last week, he explained that he’s in “God’s hands.” “I’m fine, I’m in God’s hands,” Lawrence said at the time. “I’m blessed. You know, I’m glad to be waking up every day. I’m all good. No need for people to be concerned.”
After a relatively quiet few weeks as far as new developments in the Young Thug trial goes, it’s been a blitz of new revelations since last week. That started with the reveal that Lil Woody would be forced to testify or face jail time. Fans paying close attention to the trial were pretty surprised to find that last week he plead the fifth, refusing to testify and instead accepting jail time. But according to the THUGGERDAILY twitter account who has been closely following the case, that decision didn’t stick.
When the trial got started back up earlier today, Lil Woody had changed his course. He apparently informed that prosecution that he had decided to testify after all. But when he took the stand today it didn’t seem like they got the testimony out of him that they were hoping. Fans online described his behavior as trolling. He seemed to purposefully delay things as much as possible taking extended time to answer every question posed of him. He also interpreted instructions incredibly literally often requiring back and forth between him and the judges and lawyers in the courtroom. Check out a clip of some of his behavior below.
Woody’s testimony was far from the only news in the Young Thug trial today. Thug’s lawyer Brian Steele made the dramatic gesture of accusing both the judge and prosecution of coercing witnesses in the trial. He even claimed he would go to jail to fight for his client’s innocence. Steele backed up his claims just a few hours ago. He was taken into custody for contempt of court, though the seriousness of the charges is yet to be determined.
What do you think of LIl Woody refusing to take his testimony seriously despite potentially facing jail time? Do you think his antics help or hurt Young Thug’s chances at beating the charges against him in the long run? let us know in the comment section below.
KAYTRANADA has confirmed that his new album features a tribute to Lupe Fiasco, which he has also referred to as one of his favorite songs from the project.
Just days after announcing his new album, Faith Of A Mustard Seed with an impassioned trailer, West Coast hitmaker Mustard has announced the album’s release date. The “Ballin’” producer revealed that his fourth studio album is dropping on July 26, five years after the release of his last album, Perfect Ten. It also arrives just weeks after the producer achieved his first-ever(!) No. 1 hit, “Not Like Us,” with Kendrick Lamar — making July the perfect time to strike while the iron is hot.
Despite only recently enjoying that achievement, Mustard’s last album, Perfect Ten, did bring him another kind of success, receiving a nomination for Best Rap/Sung Performance at the 2020 Grammy Awards — the first time he was nominated as lead artist. It was also featured artist Roddy Ricch’s first nomination (he won for a different song that year, having appeared on the Nipsey Hussle song “Racks In The Middle”). “Ballin’” was one of three singles from Perfect Ten, along with “100 Bands” and “Pure Water.”
Since the release of Perfect Ten, Mustard has kept busy, producing beats for Coi Leray, Vince Staples, Roddy Ricch, and Blxst, among others. With Faith Of A Mustard Seed on the way, it looks like Mustard will once again take over the season he named his label after.
Faith Of A Mustard Seed is out on 7/26 via 10 Summers Records and Interscope.
It seems like the Lakers have missed out on their top choice to replace Darvin Ham. Despite being offered a six-year, $70 million contract, Dan Hurley made the decision on Monday to stay at UConn and decline Los Angeles’ offer to become the team’s next head coach, according to ESPN. Hurley expressed he was “extremely impressed” with owner Jeanie Buss and general manager Rob Pelinka to ESPN on Sunday, saying the Lakers presented a “compelling case.” Along with his wife Andrea and UConn assistant Luke Murray, the two-time national champion was in Los Angeles on Friday to meet with the Lakers. Hurley has rejected the massive offer from the Lakers.
According to early reports, the Lakers were looking to add more bench stability to their team by pursuing JJ Redick, an ESPN NBA analyst without any prior professional coaching experience. The Lakers were reportedly “zeroing in” on the former NBA guard as the front-runner for the position, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. Coincidentally, Redick and LeBron James of the Lakers co-host a podcast. Now we will see if the Lakers give JJ another look now that Dan Hurley has passed on the job.
BREAKING: Connecticut’s Dan Hurley has turned down the Los Angeles Lakers’ six-year, $70 million offer and will return to chase a third straight national title, sources tell ESPN. LA would’ve made him one of NBA’s six highest paid coaches. pic.twitter.com/hEXo3o00SR
The Lakers had been interested in Hurley, the two-time NCAA Tournament champion coach, since the start of the hiring process, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Despite Shams claiming that JJ Redick was the front-runner, it was apparently Huelry all along. According to the NBA insider, Pelinka and Buss were very excited about the UConn coach. They believed Hurley had excellent player development tools at his disposal and could develop young players. LeBron James was also someone who has been impressed with Hurley. Hurley signed a $32.1 million contract extension with UConn that spans through 2029 following his first national championship victory.
Dan Hurley has become the most sought-after coach in the sport following his historically successful back-to-back national title seasons. Hurley’s team dominated college basketball and produced the first repeat champion in 17 years. The return of a preseason top-five squad raises the prospect of a third consecutive UConn championship. Despite losing some talent, this seems to be a great opportunity to pass up. Overall, The Lakers have missed out on their guy.
Halle Bailey and DDG are no strangers to controversy at this point. Overall, their entire relationship has been scrutinized by the internet. There are some people who claim that DDG isn’t good enough for Bailey. Meanwhile, there are others who felt it was outrageous for Bailey to cover up the fact that she was pregnant for so long. Due to the nature of the internet, everyone can have an opinion, and the couple understands this all too well.
However, the couple found themselves going viral on Sunday evening thanks to a video that was making the rounds on Twitter. This clip appears to be a bit older as it had previously been posted on Twitter, albeit with less reach. In the video, DDG can be seen startling Halle Bailey to the point where she accidentally reveals that she was topless. The camera cuts off quickly and it’s unclear how the video ended up on Snapchat, in the first place. Well, while taking to Twitter, DDG blamed AI for the video, saying that artificial intelligence is “scary and weird.” This ended up getting a retweet from Halle herself.
However, over on The Neighborhood Talk, fans were not buying DDG’s explanation. In their minds, the video looked too real. Moreover, some feel like AI is being used as an excuse by everyone. “So all these celebrities gone blame AI? Some of this looking way too real fr,” one person wrote. “It was an accident you got scared. And boob jumped out. Who cares but we not gonna keep whipping AI for everything that come out inappropriate,” claimed another. Various other comments share the exact same sentiment, which goes to show how divisive the issue is.
Let us know what you think about this situation, in the comments section down below. Do you agree with the notion that AI is being used as an excuse these days? Do you believe DDG when he said the most recent viral video making the rounds was AI? Additionally, stay tuned to HNHH for the latest news and updates from around the music world. We will continue to keep you informed on all of your favorite artists and their upcoming projects.
Doja Cat has often had a very touchy relationship with her own fanbase. She’s stumbled a few times and made it look like she doesn’t actually have much appreciation for her most die-hard followers. The most notorious incident came last year when she took issue with her fanbase calling themselves “Kittenz.” The backlash against her comments was so strong that lost hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers. Some of the most prominent fan pages for the “Paint The Town Red” rapper even closed down or converted to other kinds of accounts.
She was once again upset with her fans over the weekend when she performed at Parklife Festival. This time around it seemed much more playful than genuinely upset, which the context probably informs. During a rainy performance at the Festival she tried to break into Hilary Duff’s classic rain anthem “Come Clean.” But when the audience doesn’t sing along with her, likely because they don’t know the words, Doja can’t believe it. “B*tch, you don’t know that sh*t? What the f*ck?” she says when the audience gives her an underwhelming response. Check out the full clip of the interaction below.
Doja Cat also found herself sparking conversation on Twitter over the weekend, as she’s often known to. That came from a series of tweets she made speculating on whether or not Chewbacca from Star Wars is gay. She seemingly couldn’t get the idea out of her head tweeting about it multiple times hours apart across the span of two days. She also may have recently taken shots at her own dad on Twitter, leading fans to pay extra close attention to whatever she posts.
What do you think of Doja Cat getting upset with her fans for not knowing the words to Hillary Duff’s “Come Clean” during a recent festival performance? Would you have been able to sing along with Doja? Let us know in the comment section below.
: Citizen McCain with Meghan McCain
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