Reach Records announced Monday (Jan. 31) that the label has dropped producer and Christian hip-hop artist GAWVI following allegations that he sent unsolicited explicit photos to women while he was married. He’s also been dropped from the label’s upcoming We Are Unashamed Tour.

“Due to behavior that is inconsistent with our core values, we have ended our professional relationship with GAWVI,” the label wrote in a statement. “This was a tough decision for us because of the level of complexity and because we invest in our artists not just for their talent, but also as brothers and sisters in Christ. This is something we have been processing for over a year and have wrestled with what would be the right way forward. New details that were provided made us realize today’s decision was necessary. We also want our actions to be a reflection of love, care, and concern for those who fail and those who are affected by our failures. Each of us needs God’s grace and we invite you to pray for the families and individuals whose lives are being impacted. This is not a chance to throw anybody away. We continue to hope for restoration to be the outcome.”

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Over the weekend, Gawvi revealed that his marriage to wife Brianna Azucena ended in 2020. “We did everything we could to make it work for years, but after seeking the support of friends, family and counseling, I came to an extremely hard decision to move forward in a direction that I felt would be healthiest,” he wrote in a since-deleted Instagram post that was shared by The Crew. “There is no scandal to gossip about, just 2 adults that made decisions that lead to this point. And if you know me, you know I hate divorce and I’m not here to promote it.”

Following his announcement, visual artist and designer Cataphant took to Twitter to defend her friend Azucena. “Years ago I made album artwork for @gawvi,” she tweeted on Saturday. “For my next project I’m going to make a collage of all the unasked for di– pics he sent to women while he was still married.”

The next day, Cataphant further clarified the situation surrounding Gawvi’s divorce and why she chose to speak out after he shared his statement. “It wasn’t a knee-jerk thoughtless reaction,” she wrote of her original tweet. “I have known about his actions for at least a year, maybe more. WE ALL DID. He wasn’t good at covering his tracks. Who did I find out all these things from? Everyone.

“Secondly, EVERYONE confronted him,” she continued. “I want to defend all my friends because I KNOW they tried and tried. When someone refuses accountability and is a text book narcissist, there is no ‘addressing in privately.’”

She concluded her string of tweets by writing, “I did this because I’m standing up for my friend who was incorrectly represented in that lying a– statement that painted a false picture of why Gawvi LEFT his wife for someone else. Divorce is whatever, sh– happens. But Gawvi, if you’re reading this.. f— you you f—ing liar.”

I want to clarify a couple things about why I spoke out about Gawvi. It wasn’t a knee-jerk thoughtless reaction. I have known about his actions for at least a year, maybe more. WE ALL DID. He wasn’t good at covering his tracks. Who did I find out all these things from? Everyone.

— Shiv’s Rage Face (@cataphant) January 30, 2022

At the time of publication, Gawvi had deleted all posts on his Instagram page, including the statement announcing his divorce. He has yet to publicly comment on Cataphant’s allegations.

The We Are Unashamed Tour, kicking off March 17 in Austin, Texas, will move forward with Lecrae, Andy Mineo, Trip Lee, Tedashii, 1K Phew, Wande, WHATUPRG, and Hulvey

Hargus “Pig” Robbins, a Country Music Hall of Fame member and renowned session pianist who played with the likes of George Jones, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn and many more, has died. He was 84.

Robbins passed away on Sunday (Jan. 30), the Country Music Hall of Fame confirmed.

In a statement from the Country Music Association, CEO Sarah Trahern wrote, “Hargus ‘Pig’ Robbins was a defining sound for so much of the historic music out of Nashville. His talent spoke for itself through his decades-spanning career and work as a session pianist with countless artists across genres. Our hearts go out to his friends and family during this difficult time.”

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum CEO Kyle Young said, “Like all successful session musicians, Pig Robbins was quick to adapt to any studio situation. He worked quickly, with perfection less a goal than a norm. And while he could shift styles on a dime to suit the singer and the song, his playing was always distinctive. Pig’s left hand on the piano joined with Bob Moore’s bass to create an unstoppable rhythmic force, while the fingers on his right hand flew like birds across the keys. The greatest musicians in Nashville turned to Pig for guidance and inspiration.”

Born in Spring City, Tennessee, Robbins said in a 2007 Nashville Cats interview that he “was about three years old when I stuck a knife in one eye.” The other eye had what was called “sympathetic infection,” he said, and he lost his sight completely.

He attended the Tennessee School for the Blind, where he started taking piano lessons at age seven, learning by ear. “I figured in two or three weeks I’d be playing what I was hearing on the radio,” he joked, saying that at the time he was listening to “country music, of course.”

He got his nickname while at school. He loved playing in the old fire escapes, and said that “when I’d come out, I’d be real dirty from all that soot and everything.” The school supervisor would tell him, “‘You’re as dirty as a little pig,’” he noted, “and the kids picked [it] up and started to call me ‘Pig.’”

He said the nickname never bothered him, and it stuck.

At school, he was taught classical music, but he practiced the music of his choice without his teachers. Some of his early influences included Owen Bradley, Poppa John Gordy and Ray Charles.

Robbins’ breakout performance as a session player came in 1959, on George Jones’ “White Lightning.” In the Nashville studio, he went on to work on innumerable sessions with country stars. Notable credits would include Patsy Cline’s “I Fall to Pieces,” Loretta Lynn’s “You’re Looking at Country” and “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” Dolly Parton’s “Coat of Many Colors,” Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler” and Tammy Wynette’s “D-I-V-O-R-C-E” — just to name a handful of highlights.

Robbins was also the pianist on Bob Dylan’s classic Blonde on Blonde, during the album’s Nashville sessions in 1966.

Beyond his countless contributions over decades as a session player, Robbins also recorded a number of his own solo studio albums in the ’60s and ’70s.

The musician took a brief break from his career around the year 2000, due to illness.

“I was diagnosed with cancer in December of ’99,” he recalled in the Nashville Cats interview, “and then I started taking chemo and it numbed my fingers — so I had to quit about April, I think it is, that year. After about a year, I got to feeling a little better and found out I was going to live, so I thought I’d start trying to play again. The more I played, the more the feeling would come back. It was kind of like therapy.”

He soon got back to playing on a number of albums, with one of his most recent credits being Connie Smith‘s 2021 release, The Cry of the Heart.

Of Robbins, longtime collaborator Smith once said, “I love the depth and timbre of his playing. The way he plays just lifts me up, and I feel more when Pig’s playing.”

Robbins was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2012. Among the various awards he’s won, Robbins was named the CMA’s instrumentalist of the year in both 1976 and 2000, and he took home a Grammy for best country instrumental performance in 1978.

Cheslie Kryst, an Extra correspondent and former Miss USA, has died. She was 30.

Her family confirmed the news to The Hollywood Reporter on Sunday. A cause of death was not provided by them, but the New York Police Department confirmed to THR that it was a death by suicide.

Kryst’s body was found at 7:05 a.m. Sunday, on the sidewalk outside the Orion Condominium building, where she was a resident, in Manhattan.

“In devastation and great sorrow, we share the passing of our beloved Cheslie,” the statement read. “Her great light was one that inspired others around the world with her beauty and strength. She cared, she loved, she laughed and she shined. Cheslie embodied love and served others, whether through her work as an attorney fighting for social justice, as Miss USA and as a host on EXTRA. But most importantly, as a daughter, sister, friend, mentor and colleague – we know her impact will live on.”

The family asked for privacy at this time as they reflect on their loss. Kryst won the Miss USA beauty pageant in 2019 as a participant from North Carolina.

In a statement of its own, and obtained by THR, Extra wrote: “Our hearts are broken. Cheslie was not just a vital part of our show, she was a beloved part of our Extra family and touched the entire staff.  Our deepest condolences to all her family and friends.”

Kryst had several other TV appearances over the last several years, among them being featured as a panelist on Black Girl Beauty and as a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show and Live With Kelly and Ryan.

Kryst also appeared as Miss USA in Ava DuVernay and Colin Kaepernick’s Colin in Black and White.

This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.

On Jan. 30, 1969, The Beatles staged their final live performance on the rooftop of their Apple Corps headquarters in London’s Savile Row.

In commemoration of the iconic event, Disney and Imax on Sunday (Jan. 3o) unveiled a special theatrical version of Peter Jackson’s documentary The Beatles: Get Back that played to near-sellout crowds in nearly 70 Imax theaters across North America and at the BFI Imax theater in London.

Sunday’s debut of the 60-minute film — which features the roughly 45-minute concert in its entirety — was accompanied by a live Q&A with Jackson and BBC broadcaster, author and musician Matt Everitt that was beamed into cinemas.

Jackson used footage from his eight-hour Beatles documentary series to create the larger-than-life presentation of the rooftop concert. The acclaimed series itself debuted on Disney+ over Thanksgiving.

According to Imax, a majority of Sunday’s locations were sold out in cities including New York, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, Charlotte, St. Paul, Pittsburgh, San Antonio and Cleveland. The special event generated roughly $500,000 in grosses.

The Beatles: Get Back — The Rooftop Performance will play exclusively in select Imax locations across the globe over the Feb. 11-13 weekend. The concert footage was digitally remastered with proprietary Imax technology.

“Peter Jackson edited this together so that you can see the concert in its full glory,” says Imax Entertainment president Megan Colligan. “And the turnout shows the power of coming together in a theater even though it’s on Disney+.”

Like other exhibitors, Imax is looking for ways to broaden its reach.

In early December, Imax partnered with Amazon Prime to stream the Kanye West and Drake concert live to 36 IMAX theaters in the U.S. and Canada. And also in December, Imax teamed with Apple and A24 for an exclusive one-day engagement of The Tragedy of Macbeth, followed by a Q&A with director Joel Coen and Frances McDormand. It held a similar event for Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story.

This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.

Another criminal charge has been given to a 15-year-old boy who was shot and paralyzed by a Miami-Dade Police sergeant. Vito Corleone-Venisee was charged with aggravated assault Friday night. He … Click to Continue »