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The Weeknd Slammed A ‘Ridiculous’ ‘Rolling Stone’ Article About Alleged Issues With His HBO Show, ‘The Idol’

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The Weeknd (aka Abel Tesfaye) did a new interview with Vanity Fair, ahead of his upcoming HBO show, The Idol, premiering at Cannes this week. However, the series, which Tesfaye stars in, has encountered some controversy along the way.

A few months ago, Rolling Stone came out with an article that alleged it had gone “wildly, disgustingly off the rails.” Sources also claimed that there were tons of rewrites and reshoots from showrunner Sam Levinson (Euphoria) that turned it into “twisted torture porn.”

“It was like any rape fantasy that any toxic man would have in the show, and then the woman comes back for more because it makes her music better,” one source claimed.

Just a few hours after the piece gained traction, Tesfaye pushed back on social media, using a clip from The Idol where his character calls the publication irrelevant. During his Coachella appearance at Metro Boomin’s set, he skipped over the Rolling Stone lyric of “Heartless.” Now, he’s continuing to make his thoughts clear.

“I thought the article was ridiculous,” Tesfaye said in the Vanity Fair interview. “I wanted to give a ridiculous response to it.”

“I actually really loved working with Amy [Seimetz],” he added, touching upon a claim about tensions with Seimetz, who departed the show during the early production process, “and I’m sure she’s reading all this being like, ‘Why am I being thrown into this?’”

Tesfaye’s The Idol is set to begin airing on Max starting June 4.

Pras Is Suing 50 Cent, Kyrie Irving, And ‘Rolling Stone’ For Calling Him An FBI Informant

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Fugees founder Pras Michel has filed a lawsuit for defamation against 50 Cent, Kyrie Irving, and Rolling Stone magazine for calling him an FBI informant and a “rat,” according to Rolling Stone. After Rolling Stone reported on Pras’ unusual testimony during the money laundering case against him saying that he approached the FBI after meeting with a Chinese minister in 2017, rumors of Pras being an “informant” spread rapidly online. 50 Cent, who is often quick to react or joke around about hip-hop news stories on social media, called Pras “a rat” on Instagram, while Irving also shared a post calling Pras a “federal informant” on Twitter.

In a letter sent to the Rolling Stone offices Wednesday, May 10, Pras’ attorneys notified the potential defendants of their intention to take them to court. Jonathan Noah Schwartz wrote (again, according to Rolling Stone), “It is and was absolutely and demonstrably false for you to publish that Michel was a ‘government informant.’ Labeling a hip-hop artist such as Michel, the reputation of whom is dependent upon ‘street credibility’ and not being a ‘snitch,’ a ‘government informant’ most certainly tends to subject said hip-hop artist to hatred, distrust, ridicule, contempt and/or disgrace, along with injury in their trade or profession.”

Pras was convicted of money laundering, illegal lobbying, witness tampering, and campaign finance violations in the April trial, all charges stemming from his association with Malaysian money man Jho Low, who is himself wanted for allegedly embezzling billions from his home nation’s sovereign wealth fund.

E-40 Criticizes “Rolling Stone” For Being Snubbed from “100 GREATEST WEST COAST HIP-HOP SONGS” List

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The West Coast hip-hop sound has remained a high-demand sound within the genre since its debut. This week, a billboard released a fresh named “100 Greatest West Coast Hip Hop Songs.” Critically, the list has received mixed reviews including from Bay Area Pioneer, E-40. On Wednesday, he took to Twitter to express his disappointment in his song “Tell Me When To Go” missed the massive list. “Hey Rolling Stone, appreciate you guys for including ‘Captain Save a Hoe’ at No. 18 of your 100 Greatest West Coast Hip-Hop Songs of All Time,” he said. “But there’s no excuse for ‘Tell Me When To Go’ being completely left off the list #Timeless,” he added.

E-40’s “Tell Me When to Go” was a single from his 2006 album My Ghetto Report Card. The song’s success brought it to Number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100. It is also certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. Additionally, his 1993 single “Captain Save A Ho” became his breakout single. This song only reached Number 93 on the Billboard Hot 100. With the higher success of “Tell Me When To Go,” he was within the “greatest” conversation in Hip Hop. In January, Billboard listed him as number 43 on their “Top 50 Greatest Rappers Of All Time list.” “Still feel underrated nationally but nobody can deny my longevity, independent hustle, my unorthodox style, and creative slang in this rap game!!,” he said.

E-40 Tweets About His List Snub

Moreover, E-40’s everyday festivities were interrupted while attending a basketball game. In April, the rapper was ejected from a Golden State Warriors game versus the Sacramento Kings. He claimed the incident took place due to a racial bias from a heckler behind him. “During the fourth quarter, I finally turned around and addressed one heckler in an assertive but polite manner.

Yet, shortly thereafter, Kings’ security approached me, assumed that I instigated the encounter, and proceeded to kick me out of the arena,” he said in a statement. This incident caused an investigation by the Sacramento Kings franchise. Furthermore, he surprised fans with a new project with legends Snoop Dog and Ice Cube called Mount Westmore. The project came in great taste while serving as a reminder to rap fans of their contributions to rap.

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Snoop Dogg & Dr. Dre Claim Top Spot On Rolling Stone’s West Coast Rap Songs List

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When you think of West Coast hip-hop from all eras, few names come quicker to mind than Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. Moreover, the pioneering duo had an incredible run in the 1990s and beyond and blessed fans with multiple classic records- and the classic West Coast rap song, according to Rolling Stone. Furthermore, the publication recently made a list of the 100 best songs from the sub-genre/region, including all sorts of names. From Ice-T to Kendrick Lamar, Tupac Shakur to Tyler, The Creator and many more, they covered a lot of bases. However, at the very top spot stood Dre and Snoop’s 1992 classic, “Nuthin’ But A G Thang.”

In fact, the duo has more placements throughout the list. For example, the trailblazing rap group N.W.A., in which Dr. Dre was a key member, nabbed the silver medal with the 1988 hit “Straight Outta Compton.” In addition, Snoop Dogg’s “Gin And Juice” landed at the number eight spot. Considering their indelible stamp on so many careers and sounds in the region and beyond, their presence is no surprise. Other names included in the top 10 are the aforementioned Kendrick, Ice-T, and Tupac, plus Mac Dre, Ice Cube, and Souls Of Mischief.

Snoop Dogg & Dr. Dre Top Rolling Stone‘s Best West Coast Rap Songs List

Furthermore, the duo was recently in the news after Suge Knight claimed that Dr. Dre did not, in fact, produce Snoop Dogg records like Doggystyle. “[Daz Dillinger] did the whole- he did everything on Doggystyle. By himself,” Knight alleged. “The whole album was done. He did everything. He produced it. So when it was time to come out, the streets said, well, they want Andre [Dr. Dre] to be on it. And Andre said, ‘I want to be on there.’ So Andre went to Daz and said, ‘Look man, let me say it was produced by me, and put my name on it. You’ll get paid, but let me be the one who produced it.”

Still, Dillinger came through with a takedown of Suge’s claims. “Whats up y’all it’s Daz Dillinger giving y’all the news and info that I’m looking at,” he started. “Hey, Dr. Dre is the best producer in the motherf***ing world. I did not have nothing to do with that, Dr. Dre did that on his own. Suge Knight is lying, I ain’t sign a motherf***ing thing. He’s just covering s**t up because of everything that Snoop has uncovered in the Death Row unveiling of all the business and shady s**t that Alan Grunblatt, little fat f***er, and what they was doing and how they was still in cahoots with Suge Knight. So he’s just making up s**t right now.” Check out Rolling Stone‘s full list here and return to HNHH for the latest on Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre.

Christina Ricci Says She Regrets Posing In Lingerie For Rolling Stone Cover

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Christina Ricci says that she regrets posing in lingerie for the iconic 1999 cover of Rolling Stone. The actress was only 19 years old at the time of the photo shoot and had just starred in Vincent Gallo’s Buffalo ’66 and Don Roos’ The Opposite of Sex. Ricci reflected on the cover story during a new interview with Rolling Stone published last Wednesday.

“It’s not how I would have chosen to be dressed, but it’s very much of its time. Not great,” she said of the cover. She also admitted to being “a bit of a d***head” at the time and added: “I could have handled it in a way that was less teenage.”

Christina Ricci At The Premiere Of “Wednesday”

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 16: Christina Ricci attends the world premiere of Netflix’s “Wednesday” at Hollywood Legion Theater on November 16, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Tullberg/FilmMagic)

Ricci also admitted that, to this day, she finds herself “starting to feel a little bit more devil-may-care about the things I say. And that’s not good for me. I always go too far. I never realize how awful a thing I’m saying is until someone else is like, ‘What the f***?’” She added that the non-stop press cycle for TV shows is far more draining than the breaks offered in movies. Ricci recently appeared in Netflix’s Wednesday, based on The Addams Family character she previously played in the 1991 film and its 1993 sequel.

Ricci also had a lot to say about her physical appearance. She explained that when she was younger, “the second you looked like a teenager, you had to quit. I got very lucky, because [I] coincided with independent films wanting to cast actual teenagers to play teenagers.” She added: “The amount of years spent obsessed with trying to make sure nobody could criticize you for your appearance… I really have embraced this body-positivity thing. It’s such a f***ing relief to know that nobody’s allowed to call you fat. [When] people complain about things like that, I’m always like, ‘Haven’t you heard? We don’t have to worry about that anymore!’”

Christina Ricci For “Rolling Stone”

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Rolling Stone Writer Accused Of Racism After Replying To The Weeknd’s Criticism With Monkey Meme

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A writer for Rolling Stone faces heavy accusations of racism after he replied to The Weeknd’s shots at the publication with a picture of a monkey. Moreover, this all stemmed from a recently shared promo clip of HBO’s upcoming series The Idol, which Abel stars in. In the clip, his character disses Rolling Stone, calling them “irrelevant” when approached for a promo opportunity. Afterwards, the magazine shared a report in which they interviewed various cast members and came to critical and damning conclusions on the show’s production, script, and messaging. Then, the Canadian star tweeted the clip, asking the publication “Did we upset you?” and a writer responded with the seemingly bigoted meme.

While many might take this as overly reactionary, it’s important to consider the context of their feud and the imagery in the meme. In fact, it’s kind of a reflection of the hypocritical and indulgent brush that they painted the series with in their report. Still, many on social media found it quite funny, mostly in spite of the connotation and hopefully not because of it. Also, it just so happens to target one of the most successful artists of our time, and one who already pushes back against industry institutions.

Rolling Stone Writer Faces Accusations Of Racism For Response To The Weeknd

Moreover, the show’s behind the scenes testimonies took a backseat in the midst of this ordeal. However, HBO issued a statement on these allegations, including one that noted series director Amy Seimetz being booted halfway through. “The initial approach on the show and production of the early episodes, unfortunately, did not meet HBO standards so we chose to make a change.

“Throughout the process, the creative team has been committed to creating a safe, collaborative, and mutually respectful working environment, and last year, the team made creative changes they felt were in the best interest of both the production and the cast and crew. We look forward to sharing The Idol with audiences soon.” Still, audiences don’t have the show in their hands to compare, and maybe there’s some truth to what happened on set. But a possibly discriminatory response to a minority superstar rings louder right now than any speculation on a yet-to-premiere show. Regardless, stick around on HNHH for more updates on this story and The Weeknd.

Chaka Khan Went Full Scorched Earth As She Railed Against The Singing Of Adele, Beyoncé, Mariah Carey And More

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Rolling Stone really knows how to get the people going. Before publishing a widely reported, scathing scoop on the alleged dysfunction on the set of The Weeknd and Sam Levinson’s forthcoming HBO series, The Idol, there was the “200 Greatest Singers Of All Time” list, which drove Celine Dion fans to politely protest her exclusion outside of the magazine’s New York office.

Chaka Khan disputed the list for a different reason, and she wasn’t polite about it. The 10-time Grammy winner joined the latest episode of Los Angeles Magazine Presents: The Originals podcast with Andrew Goldman. At the end of the hour-long conversation, Khan said she hadn’t read the list — “I don’t read” — so Goldman filled her in by reading the blurb Rolling Stone wrote about her. Khan is ranked 29th.

“Just listening to that, if I didn’t know Chaka Khan, I would say, ‘Ooh, that earns at least a five. Maybe a 10, at the least,” she said. Khan agreed with Aretha Franklin topping the list (“As she f*cking should be! Thank you! There’s justice somewhere”) and Whitney Houston at No. 2 but belted her criticism of Mariah Carey’s fifth-place ranking with the oomph of “I’m Every Woman.”

“That must be payola or some sh*t like that,” Khan said of Carey’s positioning. She also declined to comment on Beyoncé at No. 8 before commenting on Beyoncé at No. 8: “I don’t have anything to say about Beyoncé. She’s a great singer. She really has [the] opportunity to be a great singer. She has what it takes. She got the chops. She does.”

Carey wasn’t the only one to upset Khan, as Adele, Christina Aguilera — “Whatever, a lot of Black people like Christina Aguilera. She’s alright” — and Mary J. Blige caught strays.

“I quit,” Khan said after Goldman revealed Adele ranked 22nd. And that was nothing compared to her reaction to Mary J.’s spot ahead of her at No. 25.

“You know what? That’s why I feel the way I do,” Khan said. “These are some blind bat b*tches. These b*tches are blind as a motherf*cking bat! They need hearing aids. They don’t have hearing aids. They have no eyes. They have no ears. You know what? These must be the children of Helen Keller.”

Whew. You’d think Khan was left off the list like Dion.

The Weeknd Slams Rolling Stone Report On “The Idol”: “Did We Upset You?”

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The Weeknd is on Rolling Stone’s neck following a recent claim surrounding the set of HBO’s The Idol. The Weeknd shared a snippet of his upcoming series, where he throws shade at the publication. In the clip, we see self-help guru Tedros (played by The Weeknd) seated poolside with Jocelyn (played by Lily-Rose Depp) conversing with Dan Levy’s character. When a Rolling Stone cover story is mentioned, Tedros dismisses the publication as “irrelevant,” mirroring his own feelings towards them.

“Rolling Stone? Aren’t they a little irrelevant?” Tedros asks. Levy explained how the publication is a “heritage brand” before Jocelyn said they’re “past its prime.” “Nobody cares about Rolling Stone … Rolling Stone has 6 million followers on Instagram, half of them probably bots. And Jocelyn has 78 million followers. All real. So she does a photoshoot, she tags them, they get her followers, more money for Rolling Stone, nothing for Jocelyn.” The Weeknd captioned the clip, “@rollingstone did we upset you?”

Rolling Stone’s Report On The Weeknd’s “The Idol”

Rolling Stone shared a report consisting of interviews with 11 members of the cast and crew who detailed the chaotic production. First, Amy Seimetz was announced to direct all six episodes before leaving the series as part of a “major creative overhaul.” However, the report details an alleged “shitshow” behind the scenes that has veered far from the central message that was initially conveyed in the story. “It went from satire to the thing it was satirizing,” one source said. Another added described parts of the script – which have not been filmed – “like sexual torture porn.”

HBO issued a statement to Complex following the bombshell report. “The initial approach on the show and production of the early episodes, unfortunately, did not meet HBO standards so we chose to make a change. Throughout the process, the creative team has been committed to creating a safe, collaborative, and mutually respectful working environment, and last year, the team made creative changes they felt were in the best interest of both the production and the cast and crew. We look forward to sharing The Idol with audiences soon.”

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