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Nicki Minaj made it loud and clear that she stands by Jesy Nelson after she’s faced accusations of Blackfishing.
The accusations of Blackfishing — levied against non-Black influencers and celebrities when they alter their appearances to look Black when they’re not — against Nelson arose following her hip-hop-leaning debut solo single “Boyz,” featuring Minaj, and its accompanying music video, which features her spray tan, multiple wigs, fuller lips and what some have called a “Blaccent” when she sings, “So ‘hood, so good, so damn taboo.” Nelson — a white British woman who left Little Mix, one of the best-selling U.K. girl groups, in December 2020 after nearly a decade, citing mental health reasons — recently revealed she hasn’t spoken to the group’s remaining members since her departure.
U.K. musician and comedian NoHun claimed on his Instagram Story and later on TikTok that Leigh-Anne Pinnock, the only Black member of Little Mix, had allegedly sent him DMs about Nelson blocking her, Jade Thirlwall and Perrie Edwards on the social media app (after reports claimed they had all unfollowed her the day after her “Boyz” single dropped) and suggesting he make a video about her “being a black fish.”
While Nelson found herself under scrutiny, Minaj came to her rescue during an hourlong Instagram Live conversation on Monday (Oct. 11). And in the same vein as the rapper’s “Boyz” verse (“Jesy, we got all the jelly bitches actin’ real messy”), Minaj had some choice words to say to Pinnock and the rest of the group about the alleged DMs.
“Sweetheart, take them text messages and shove it up your f—ing a–,” she said with a fake smile. “Don’t try to come out and ruin anyone. Let her enjoy this time. If you was in this woman’s group and you ain’t taking about this sh– for 10 years, and as soon as you see she got a video come out with Nicki Minaj and Puffy, now you sending the stations text messages and all this shit … print them text messages out, bust your a– open and shove it up your motherf—ing a–. And stop trying to hurt people and kill people’s lives and careers. … If you want a solo career, baby girl, just say that.”
The “Anaconda” MC continued shaming the women for allegedly attacking Nelson after they spent the last decade becoming one of the most successful girl groups in the world with more than 50 million records sold worldwide, saying they only chose to air their grievances after her exit.
“It’s just hard for me because I was in a group with two women of color for nine years and it was never brought up to me up until the last music video,” Nelson told Minaj, referring to their 2020 music video for their U.K. No. 1 single “Sweet Melody,” which was the last video Little Mix shot as a foursome and the first time Nelson claims Pinnock mentioned Blackfishing accusations to her.
After the Instagram Live video wrapped, Minaj tweeted, “Don’t call things out when they benefit your personal vendetta to ppl. Call them out immediately once you see it chile. Don’t wait a decade after you’ve made millions with the person.”
Last week, in an interview with Vulture, Nelson said she had never faced Blackfishing accusations “the whole time I was in Little Mix. … And then I came out of [the band] and people all of a sudden were saying it. I wasn’t on social media around that time, so I let my team [deal with it], because that was when I’d just left. But I mean, like, I love Black culture. I love Black music. That’s all I know; it’s what I grew up on.” (Vulture also stated that Nelson canceled two follow-up interviews to specifically discuss the Blackfishing claims, while the singer’s publicist sent the publication a statement about how Nelson “would never intentionally do anything to make myself look racially ambiguous.”)
Watch Minaj and Nelson’s entire IG Live conversation below.
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Apple’s AirPods remain the industry leader when it comes to true wireless earbuds, but not everyone wants to shell out the $200 it costs for a pair of the popular white buds. That’s why we’re fans of Back Bay Audio’s new Tempo 30 earbuds, which deliver many of the same performance features as AirPods, all for just $39.99.
The Tempo 30 Wireless Earbuds are a great AirPods alternative, both in terms of sound quality, battery life and overall value. The Back Bay Audio earbuds deliver a whopping eight hours of music on a single charge (up to 32 hours with the included charging case), and can be worn safely through rain, sweat and even in the shower, thanks to the buds’ IPX7 waterproofing technology. The earbuds’ internal “nano-coating” keeps the moisture out — and the tunes playing on.
Audio-wise, we’ve tested the Tempo 30 earbuds against our AirPods Pro, and they’re surprisingly powerful, with full, wide-ranging sound and clear, crisp details (no muffled tracks here). The audio is plenty loud too, and if you really want to turn it up, you can switch from Back Bay’s “Signature Sound” mode to their new “Bass Mode” for extra motivation.
We found the Tempo 30 Earbuds great for taking calls on the go too, thanks to their dual microphones. And with six(!) different fit options, it was easy to find a pair of eartips that stayed securely in our ears. Even while going on a run or hitting the treadmill at the gym, our Tempo 30 Earbuds stayed in our ears comfortably.
Back Bay Audio’s Tempo 30 Earbuds are one of the best AirPod alternatives on the market, beating Apple when it comes to battery life, waterproofing and price. The AirPods Pro do offer noise-cancelling technology, though if you just need a pair of everyday earbuds for music and calls, the Tempo 30 Wireless Earbuds will do just fine.
At just $39 here, they’re a whopping $140 cheaper than the AirPods’ current listed price too, so if you’re looking for a cheap AirPods alternative, it’s a no-brainer.
Find out more about the Tempo 30 Earbuds and pick up a pair for $39.99 right now at BackBayBrand.com. Two colors are available: black and rose gold.
Billboard is picking a weekly deal to share with our readers. Check billboard.com each week for our Billboard Buys product.
Deon Estus, the longtime bass player for Wham! and George Michael behind the 1989 hit song “Heaven Help Me,” died Monday (Oct. 11) at age 65, according a post on his official social media accounts.
“It is with real sadness I post that Deon Estus passed away this morning,” reads a post on Estus’ Twitter page. “Deon was mostly known as the third member of Wham! Deon was passionate about music and loved interacting with his loyal fans.”
His partner Brenda Kaye Pearce shared this message to Facebook on Monday: “My dearest, closest partner and significant other of 4 years transitioned and all I can remember is our last conversation the day before. My heart will need time to heal. R.I.P. Deon. Love you forever.”
Estus — born Jeffery Dean Estus in Detroit in 1956 — had a top five hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Heaven Help Me,” which reached No. 5 in April 1989. The song, which was co-written and featured background vocals from Michael, who also solely produced it, peaked at No. 3 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Adult Contemporary charts.
“Heaven Help Me” was released from Estus’ only album, Spell, released in 1989 and which also produced the Dance Club Songs hit “Me or the Rumours” and the top 20 Adult Contemporary title track.
In addition to his work with Wham! and Michael, according to Estus’ bio, he played bass with Tina Turner, Elton John, Marvin Gaye, Frank Zappa and Annie Lennox.
In an interview with Billboard following the Christmas Day death of Michael in 2016, Estus said, “I’m still in shock. It hasn’t quite hit me yet, but it helps to talk about it and to think about all those fantastic tours, all those records, all the people he’s helped and all the things he’s done, which is a lot. I was blessed to have known him.”
Watch Estus perform “Heaven Help Me” on the Netherlands’ CountDown in 1989 below:
When Eric Church announced last week that his two “special solo sets” in Pennsylvania as part of his Gather Again Tour would include a few surprises, he wasn’t kidding.
During his concert at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center on Saturday, Church first welcomed “Burning House” hitmaker Cam to sing with him, and later invited Morgan Wallen to the stage.
Church and Wallen performed a handful of Wallen’s songs including “Sand in My Boots,” “Whiskey Glasses” and “Quittin’ Time,” as well as the Church hits “Record Year” and “Homeboy.”
Church is a co-writer on Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album, contributing to the track “Quittin’ Time” alongside Luke Laird and Josh Thompson. Over the past several months, Wallen has posted images from his offstage moments hanging out with Church, including golfing trips and jam sessions.
Despite the apparent close friendship between Church and Wallen, Church also denounced Wallen’s use of a racial slur earlier this year, telling Billboard during an interview in April, “That was indefensible. I was heartbroken when it happened. I think Morgan’s trying to work on that and on himself. And I hope he does.” Following the incident, Church also sent Wallen a note telling him to “hang in there.”
After TMZ released video of a drunken Wallen uttering a racial slur outside of his Nashville home in February, Wallen’s music was temporarily pulled from country radio and from several top streaming playlists, he was suspended from his record label Big Loud/Republic, and disqualified from several awards shows. However, Wallen’s “Sand in My Boots” currently resides just outside the top 20 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart. Since its January release, Dangerous: The Double Album spent 10 weeks atop the all-genre Billboard 200 chart and still lives in the top 10.
At the Nov. 10 Country Music Association Awards, Wallen’s lone nomination is in the album of the year category, for Dangerous: The Double Album (he was disqualified from being nominated in any individual artist categories, such as male vocalist of the year, and has been banned from attending the ceremony.
Church, meanwhile is nominated for five trophies heading into November’s ceremony, including a nod for entertainer of the year.
This isn’t the first major headlining show Wallen has guested at so far this year: In July, Wallen joined Luke Bryan onstage at Bryan’s headlining show at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena (along with Jason Aldean and Florida Georgia Line’s Tyler Hubbard). In September, Church also welcomed Wallen as a guest performer during a private event to celebrate the opening of the Nashville-based The Twelve Thirty Club, which was launched by Justin Timberlake and restaurateur Sam Fox.
Wallen is also gearing up for four of his own headlining shows later this year, including two stops in Alabama, one in Tennessee and one in Georgia.
Wallen recently shared the powerful new song “Don’t Think Jesus” that he says was penned by songwriters Jessi Alexander, Chase McGill and Mark Holman and inspired by his own story.
Every day seems like Valentine’s Day for Travis Barker and Kourtney Kardashian, who are not shy about showing their love to the world. But their latest PDA post is appropriately Halloween-themed.
On Monday (Oct. 11), the blink-182 drummer posted a video of him carrying and kissing Kardashian next to a pirate ship at Disneyland, a timely backdrop for the superstar couple to get into the spirit of spooky season. And a Misfits track seems to have soundtracked their date.
“I want your skull,” he captioned the clip, borrowing the first line of the chorus of Misfits’ “Skulls,” which Kardashian completed in the comments section with the follow-up lyric “I need your skull.” Kudos to them for making a hardcore punk song that starts off with, “Corpses all hanging headless and limp/ Bodies with no surprises/ And the blood drains down like the devil’s rain/ We’ll bathe tonight” seem like a romantic ballad.
“Skulls” was released in 1982 from the horror punk band’s debut studio album Walk Among Us, which peaked at No. 6 on Billboard’s Vinyl Albums chart.
Kardashian’s younger sister Kim poked fun at the couple’s countless PDA moments on the ‘Gram in “The People’s Kourt” sketch from her Saturday Night Live hosting gig over the weekend. Kim portrayed her sister, while SNL’s Mikey Day played the role of Barker in the five-minute video.
See Kardashian and Barker’s real-life PDA post below, and listen to “Skulls.”
Timothée Chalamet offered a first look at Warner Bros.’ upcoming film Wonka.
Taking to social media Sunday, the actor shared a photo of himself on set, dressed in character as the chocolatier, donning a top hat and topcoat.
“The suspense is terrible, I hope it will last …WONKA,” Chalamet captioned the photo on Instagram, paying homage to Gene Wilder’s line in the original 1971 adaptation. In another photo, Chalamet shared a photo of Wonka’s cane, with a purple and red wrapped present sitting on top.
Warner Bros. also shared the images on their social media channels. The film’s principal photography recently began in London.
Earlier this year it was announced Chalamet had signed to star as young Willy Wonka in Warner Bros.’ reimagining of Roald Dahl’s classic children’s book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Warner Bros. described the prequel — the film is set to take place before the events of the book — as a “vivid, mythical beginnings of the imaginative young inventor before he becomes the renowned scrumdiddlyumptious Mozart of chocolate.”
Paul King, the director of the Paddington movies, will helm the musical with David Heyman and Luke Kelly producing.
Rowan Atkinson, Sally Hawkins, Keegan-Michael Key and Olivia Colman are set to star in the film.
This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.
