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He claims that he was sexually abused by a cousin until he was 14 years old.
He’s posted a song called “Cousin,” describing some of his childhood.
If true, it might explain some of his mania, if not his hate.
He says the cousin is in jail now beating a pregnant woman to death.
West posts so many unbelievable things, this must be taken with some warning. But to go this far suggests he’s telling the truth and that his mental health was compromised long ago.
The cousin has never been mentioned by name. But in 2020, there was reference to him in a documentary made by Kim Kardashian called “The Justice Project.”
Speaking to Marc Howard, president of the Frederick Douglass Project for Justice and director of Georgetown University’s Prisons and Justice Initiative, West’s now ex wife, Kim Kardashian said: ‘[Kanye’s] cousin has a double life sentence for a murder that he committed when he was 17.
In an even sadder twist, Kim said Kanye’s aunt has accepted her son’s fate and added: ‘She’s like, “I’m not even that distraught anymore. Like, that’s just what happens to the kids in our neighborhood.” There’s just no other choice.’
Say sayonara to Pedro Pascal. His character, Joel, just died brutally on The Last of Us.
Pascal lasted one full season and two episodes into the next.
I guess fans of the “Last of Us” game know what else happens in the series. But really, killing Joel off tonight would be like murdering Don Draper or Walter White. Why keep watching?
Without Pascal, “The Last of Us” lacks a leading man. But Pascal obviously knew this when he signed on. He was probably persuaded to take the job knowing he wouldn’t be stuck in a series for five years. Pascal just turned 50. He’s a late bloomer. He has Marvel’s “Fantastic Four” next. The world is his oyster.
This changes things for the Emmy Awards. Pascal can’t be considered in the Best Actor category. I guess he moves to Best Guest Actor.
My old friend, Joel Katz, died Friday in Atlanta. He was 80 years old and had been suffering from battling PSP aka Progressive Supranuclear Palsy which often presents as Parkinson’s.
Joel was a partner in Atlanta based Greenberg Traurig for decades. He literally put them on the map in the music world with clients like the Grammy Awards, the Country Music Awards, and dozens of artists including Justin Timberlake, James Brown, Jimmy Buffet, and so on. There wasn’t an R&B star out of Atlanta who Joel hadn’t represented.
There literally wasn’t a star or a top record executive who Joel didn’t have as a client, from Clive Davis to LA Reid, and everyone in between including Republic Records’ Monte and Avery Lipman, Warner Records’ Tom Corson and Big Machine Label Group’s Scott Borchetta.
Very often I would say to Joel during a casual call or meet up, What about so and so, referring to some big deal in the news. He’d reply, “Who do you think did that deal?” or “You know they’re my client.” Of course, they were, and we’d laugh about it.
At one point right before he died, Michael Jackson became a client (they’d known each other since the Jacksons Victory Tour in 1983). Two days after Michael died, I was sitting on the terrace at the Beverly Hills Four Season with Joel, having an iced tea. Astonished we looked the bills Dr. Arnold Klein had just sent Michael for thousands of dollars in charges for Demerol, etc.
Joel was on his way to meet Michael’s family, via an invitation from Jermaine, who Joel had also worked with. A couple of hours later I saw him in the hotel lobby. He looked like he’d survived a nuclear blast. “What’s wrong?” I asked. Joel shook his head. “I’ve known a lot of difficult people,” he said, “but these were the worst.” Nevertheless he helped the Estate sort out Michael’s will and other matters.
Joel had a lot of experience handling tricky matters for his celebrity clients. In May 2006 he raced from Atlanta to Dubai when famed producer Dallas Austin was arrested. Customs officials at the airport had found a small amount of cocaine in Austin’s possession. The producer was immediately take to jail, court, and convicted. Austin, who is in his 30s, had been sentenced to four years in prison. But Joel managed to get him released and brought him home with the help of another client, Senator Orrin Hatch, who had deep ties to the UAE and was also a music fan.
It was a complicated effort, requiring Joel to hire local lawyers to help him. When he returned, he told me, “I was lucky to get out of there.”
Joel was not a saint, but his heart was always in the right place. He endowed a law library in his name at the University of Tennessee that’s flourishing today. He helped a lot of artists get deals that either started their careers or enhanced them. He was always low profile about it. He was a great friend to me, and I always enjoyed our many chats. I will really miss him and his unique take on the calamitous music world. As Irving Azoff said in Joel’s obit, he was a mensch.
Donald Trump hates you unless you’re white and part of his illiterate base.
Trump’s Easter message is vicious, mocking peace and the holiday itself. Tell me: Is this a Christian greeting?
The 34 time convicted felon has turned us into the laughingstock of the world. He’s wrecking the economy — how much did those Easter eggs cost? — and turning us in to kidnappers and deporters of people on the street who’ve never been tried for an alleged crime.
Remember when he said he’d stop the wars in Gaza and Ukraine on Day 1? Almost 100 days later, the conflicts rage on. He lied about everything. He’s doing everything he can to kill the First Amendment and the free press.
Are we ready for another week of insane meetings in the Oval Office? He thinks he’s hosting a live, daily reality show called “Blow Up the World.”
And what is with the endless hatred of Joe Biden, one of the best presidents in history? Trump is not capable of issuing a statement without adding an ad hominen attack on Biden or someone he secretly fears is better than him. It’s sad.
Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” brought in $45.6 million over four days and finished at number 1.
Michael B. Jordan stars in double roles in this smart horror-thriller that also features Delroy Lindo.
At the same time, “Minecraft” just keeps printing money. A $41.3 mil weekend brings the worldwide total to just a notch under $700 mil. Wow. Sequels are in the works even as we speak. Viva Minecraft!
There are a lot of also rans including “Drop,” “Wedding Banquet,” “Warfare,” and “The Amateur.” The latter is doing the best with $27 million.
“The Wedding Banquet,” a remake of the great original, took in just under $1 million. It was trounced at the same number of theaters by a re-release of the 2005 “Pride and Prejudice,” which made $2.7 million.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame fan voting ends on Monday.
Here’s where we are:
Phish is the leader of all nominees with 322,926. It’s unclear if they’ll clear the nominating committee but you never know.
The next six lined up with my personal choices. Billy Idol, Bad Company, Soundgarden, Cyndi Lauper, Joe Cocker, and Chubby Checker.
There have been some campaigns to attract votes. Joe Cocker has been endorsed by everyone but the Pope. The Black Crowes have been more visible than in years. Bad Company also has a big following on social media. But Chubby Checker has refused every interview. His manager told me it’s either going to happen or it’s not.
The rest of the nominees are probably out of the running. That includes Mariah Carey, who shouldn’t even be there. She’s second Also, Oasis, who will never get in even if they pull off their 2026 tour without killing each other. Outkast really has just two albums. The White Stripes are complicated because it’s really Jack White.
The committee meets soon, looks at these numbers, and then does its own voting. I do hope they end this misery with Chubby Checker and just put him in. Cyndi Lauper is my first choice of all these people. The rest of is a mystery. If anyone has seen Edgar Winter play with Ringo Starr’s All Starr Band, it’s criminal that he’s not in at least under Side Men.
For Early Influencers — where Chubby may wind up — I’d love the Hall to include Stax Records stars Rufus and Carla Thomas (Carla is very much alive), also the late Mary Wells from Motown.
This week, Roger Daltrey confirmed that he’d ousted Zak, who’s played with them for 29 years. He claimed Zak played too loudly and Roger couldn’t hear him. Of course, Daltrey has lost his hearing.
Ah! These rock spats! So Spinal Tap! Glad they’ve worked it out. I guess Zak Starkey decided not to go out on tour with Oasis after all.
Will we get fooled again? We’ll see…
News Flash! Who Backs Zak!
He's not being asked to step down from The Who. There have been some communication issues, personal and private on all sides, that needed to be dealt with, and these have been aired happily.
On the event website, Trump himself is not billed as the host of the event, which promises celebrities and entertainment but makes no specific details.
The host is identified as Alysia McMillan, billed “a supporter of President Trump since he first announced he was running in 2015. She has a passion for bringing people together in fun interactive ways.” Her bio says she came up with the idea on her own.In other words, she’s just a girl with a dream.
In reality, McMillan ran in the 2020 Republican primary for Congress in Arizona’s District 29. She lost, coming in third, but since then became a Trump canvasser and fundraiser. She doesn’t promise Trump’s appearance at the event but it seems like a foregone conclusion.
There’s a dress code: “patriotic and gold attire is preferred.”
Meanwhile there was a purge at the Kennedy Center yesterday of most remaining staff. According to the Washington Post, among those terminated Friday afternoon were Derek Johnson, the vice president of marketing; Laurie McKay, the vice president of government relations and protocol; and Megan Cikara, the director of campus planning. The rest of the government relations team and the entirety of the social media team were also laid off.
I’m also told that by the time The First 100 Party happens there will be new gold wallpaper at the previously tastefully appointed theater.
The macho man president famously uses the song, “YMCA,” to promote his rallies. He even got Village People chief Victor Willis on board — to the chagrin of many — by putting money in his pocket.
Willis is one of the few musical artists not to protest Trump’s use of a song.
But now, the romance between Trump and YMCA is over. He’s cutting funds nationally to all YMCAs. The Y says it receives $600 million a year in government grants. But now there are reports that 3% of the YMCA staff across the board will be let go.
In Houston, the YMCA announced it’s closing its doors on May 30th. In Wisconsin, the Door County Y is worried about continuing food programs. The Y, it turns out, is not just a place to “hang out with all the boys.”
City commissioner Lesley Briones in Houston told the local TV station, “The Alief Family YMCA has been a cornerstone for families, youth, and seniors—providing not just programs but a true sense of community. Its closure is a painful reminder of how federal funding decisions can affect local lives. In Precinct 4, we’ve been proud to partner with the YMCA to provide a safe, engaging, and enriching environment for children and families. We remain committed to our shared vision of supporting youth development, education, and the overall well-being of the Alief community.”
In January, the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis announced it would be closing its Athenaeum location on March 28. Ten days ago, the Y in Buffalo also shuttered.
Before Trump took office, many YMCAs were already suffering financially. But the massive cuts instituted by Trump and Elon Musk may make the “YMCA” so much nostalgia.
Legendary pop star Carly Simon phoned in from Martha’s Vineyard today with a message.
“Did you see my post?” she asked. “I want the Hands Off protesters to know how proud I am of them. What they’re doing is so important!”
The reason is she just saw reports that there will be more protests this weekend around the country.
Recently Carly and her producers remixed a 50 year old song, “Share the End,” that she wrote with Jacob Brackman during the Nixon era. Now they’ve put together a video you’ll see below. It’s a message to the people she sees in every city marching against Trump’s insane and mean policies.
Simon was not just anti-Nixon. She was also a big part of the No Nukes movement in the late 70s, along with ex husband James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Bruce Springsteen, and John Hall of the group, Orleans.
She says watch the video and tag @carlysimonhq to keep the momentum going!
And no, George Soros did not pay her to say all this. I said, “Carly, the Trumpers think Soros is paying all the protesters.” She took a beat, and just started laughing. “I don’t think so!” she chuckled.
