Prince’s former business advisors have won a key ruling in their ongoing legal battle with three of the pop legend’s heirs over the management of his estate.

In a decision issued Friday, a Delaware judge ruled that advisors L. Londell McMillan and Charles Spicer Jr. could not be ousted as mangers of Prince Legacy LLC, a company created to operate half of Prince’s lucrative estate.

Three of Prince’s heirs, led by his sister Sharon Nelson, had argued they could amend the LLC agreement to remove McMillan and Spicer from their leadership positions, but the judge ruled that such efforts were clearly invalid under the terms of the agreement.

“The LLC agreement is unambiguous and [McMillan and Spicer]’s interpretation is the only reasonable one,” Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick wrote in the decision, which was obtained by Billboard.

Ruling that Prince’s heirs had vested the two advisors with “broad and exclusive management authority,” the judge said they could not now amend their agreement simply because they “came to regret this decision.”

Neither side immediately returned a request for comment from Billboard.

Prince had no will when he died of a fentanyl overdose in 2016, leaving six heirs to inherit equal shares in his valuable estate and sparking a long legal battle in Minnesota probate court over how the estate would be managed in the future.

When the court case finally wrapped up in August 2022, the estate was split into two companies – one controlled by Primary Wave after it purchased the shares of three heirs, and another (Prince Legacy) controlled by McMillan, Spicer and the three remaining relatives. At the time, both sides vowed to work together to bring Prince’s music and legacy to a new generation of music fans.

But in January, McMillan and Spicer sued their partners within Prince Legacy, claiming Nelson and other heirs were improperly trying to force them out as managers and “install themselves” in their place. McMillan and Spicer claimed Nelson had become “disgruntled” because they had refused to comply with her “unreasonable demands. They cited one incident in which she allegedly attempted “replace the entire staff” of Prince’s legendary Paisley Park home “with individuals of her choosing.”

The lawsuit argued that the efforts to oust McMillan and Spicer were not only barred by Prince Legacy’s operating agreement, but also posed a threat to their efforts “to preserve and protect Prince’s legacy.”

“The individual defendants lack any business and management experience, have no experience in the music and entertainment industries, and have no experience negotiating and managing high-level deals in the entertainment industry,” attorneys for McMillan and Spicer wrote at the time. “They have a documented history of infighting. Based on the amount and complexity of the work that Prince Legacy is involved with, they are simply not capable of stepping in and managing its business.”

In Friday’s decision, McCormick sided decisively with McMillan and Spicer, granting them summary judgment on their core allegation: That Nelson’s effort to amend the LLC agreement had been invalid under terms of the deal.

“Defendants’ interpretation … would lead to the absurd result of giving the non-managing members the authority to unilaterally take actions on behalf of the company and bind the company without the approval of the managing members,” the judge wrote in her ruling.

The decision will not end the lawsuit, because McCormick also ruled that McMillan and Spicer could to pursue their related allegation that Nelson and the other heirs had breached that contract when they attempted to amend the LLC agreement. That claim will be subject to future litigation.

Primary Wave, which controls the other half of Prince’s estate, is not involved in the litigation nor accused of any wrongdoing.

Back when she released the Spanish-language reggaeton Rauw Alejandro collaboration “Cambia El Paso” in 2021, Jennifer Lopez was coming out of a difficult time in her life. The song co-written by the two singers dropped just after Lopez split with longtime fiancé former MLB star Alex Rodriguez, and in a chat with Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe at the time Lopez said the track was about moving on, pointing out that the title translates into: “change the step.”

“I’m super happy. I know people are always wondering. How are you? What’s going on? Are you OK? This is it. I’ve never been better,” she told Lowe. “And I want my people who care about me, because I care about them so much, to know that I’ve really gotten to a place in my life where I’m great on my own. And I think once you get to that place, then amazing things happen to you that you never imagine in your life happening again. And so that is where I’m at. And I love all the love that’s coming my way right now and all of the, the good wishes. And I just want everybody to know that it’s the best time. It’s the best time of my life.”

The conversation came at a time when Lopez was spotted spending time with her former fiancé, actor Ben Affleck; after two decades apart, the two tied the knot in July 2022.

Now, the couple are reportedly going through a rough patch amid rumors of marital strife, though neither artist nor their reps have offered any public statements to date about the status of their marriage

Which is why fans were wondering about the timing of Lopez’s repost of a snippet of the “Cambia” video on Sunday. The singer titled the throwback “Happy Anniversary ‘Cambia El Paso,’” in celebration of the original July 5, 2021 release date. The brief clip features Lopez dancing and posing on the beach and city streets, rolling around in the sand in a silver bikini top and short jean shorts.

While the video only has Lopez, 54, singing the title in Spanish and lyrics about how “all she wanna do is dance, dance, dance dance,” other lines from the song have long been construed as having a not-so-subtle double-meaning. “Her life is better now without him/ He knows that his hips do not fail him/ You don’t need anyone to be well/ She doesn’t fail, she doesn’t fail,” Lopez sings on the track in Spanish in lyrics not included in the Instagram post. The homage initially featured a number of supportive comments from fans earlier in the day, but by noon on Monday (July 8) it appeared as if all comments had been removed.

Back on June 27, Lopez similarly paid tribute to another milestone in marking the 10th anniversary of her eighth studio album, A.K.A.

People noted that Sunday’s post came after Lopez appeared to spend the Fourth of July weekend in New York away from Affleck, 51, who was reportedly in Los Angeles. The last time Lopez appeared to feature Affleck in an Instagram post was on March 2 when she was promoting her documentary, The Greatest Love Story Never Told. The two were also spotted last month, reportedly arriving separately to celebrate the graduation ceremony for the actor’s 12-year-old son, Samuel.

In the Lowe interview from 2021, Lopez further explained that “Cambia” was about “change and it is about taking a step … when things don’t feel right… To me that represents joy, happiness, life… it just represents happiness to me, because I love dancing so much because it’s kind of my first love, it represents joy, happiness, a freedom… All she wants to do is be happy. All she wants to do is live.”

Check out Lopez’s post and watch the “Cambia El Paso” video below.

Kesha is loving all the new music female artists are releasing this year, but especially Sabrina Carpenter‘s.

In a TikTok posted Sunday (July 7), the “Tik Tok” singer cited the 24-year-old rising star as an example of why she’s pumped to be part of the music industry as of late. “the ladies are holding it down with new music this summer,” she wrote over a clip of her vibing to Carpenter’s Billboard Hot 100-topping “Please Please Please,” modeling a spangly gold top.

“proud to be a woman in music,” Kesha added in her caption.

Indeed, this summer has already proven to be dominated by women musicians. Along with “Espresso,” Carpenter occupied two of the top five spots in the Hot 100 chart dated July 6, while six female artists charted in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 the same week for the first time this decade, thanks to projects from Taylor Swift, Gracie Abrams, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, Ariana Grande and Charli XCX.

Plus, Kesha recently entered the ring with her new single “Joyride,” which dropped on the Fourth of July in honor of the 37-year-old superstar’s newfound independence. The track marks her first release since fulfilling her contract with Kemosabe Records and settling her nearly decade-long defamation lawsuit with the label’s founder, Dr. Luke; in 2014, she alleged that he had drugged and raped her after a 2005 party. In announcing their settlement, the producer denied Kesha’s claims, saying in a joint press release, “I never drugged or assaulted her and would never do that to anyone. For the sake of my family, I have vigorously fought to clear my name for nearly 10 years.”

“Good news: I’m a free motherf–king woman,” Kesha said at New York City’s Planet Pride in June, where she debuted “Joyride” for her audience days ahead of its release. “And do you know what I want to do? I kinda wanna play my first song in almost 20 f–king years … as a free motherf–king woman.”

Kesha isn’t the only star who’s lauded Carpenter for her wildly successful summer recently. Last week, Taylor Swift commented on one of the “Feather” singer’s posts — in which Carpenter celebrated selling out her first-ever arena tour — and wrote, “SUMMER OF SABRINA AND MAY IT CONTINUE FOREVER 😇.”

See Kesha’s post praising Sabrina Carpenter below.

Ice Spice keeps her side of the street clean, especially when Taylor Swift is involved. When fans at the rapper’s Rolling Loud Europe set started booing her “Karma” collaborator’s song Sunday (July 7), the former had the best reaction: blowing kisses to the haters and keeping things moving.  

The moment came when Swift’s part of the duo’s “Karma” remix — which reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 after Ice hopped on the track last year — started playing over the speakers during the 24-year-old Bronx native’s festival set in Austria. “Swifties, make some noise!” Ice cheered, to which a group of fans started booing loudly, waving thumbs-down symbols. 

Ice, however, was unbothered. Instead of directly acknowledging the negativity, she simply blew a kiss and gave a stony expression, seemingly in the haters’ direction, before moving right along.  

The “In Ha Mood” artist was one of several musicians to take the stage at this year’s European edition of Rolling Loud, where she also performed tracks such as “Gimmie a Light” and new single “Phat Butt.” Nicki Minaj, Playboi Carti and Travis Scott served as headliners, while Gunna, Sexyy Red, Don Toliver, Offset and more were billed on the 2024 program as well.  

And if some festivalgoers were expecting Ice not stand by Swift, they were sorely mistaken. Both artists have been vocal in their support for one another since coming together on “Karma,” with the pop star asserting on more than one occasion that the rapper is the “one to watch.” 

Ice has also said that Swift often acts as a guiding light for her when it comes to her career. “When I was in the studio with Taylor, like, I’ll never forget that,” the rapper shared with Billboard in the March 2024 issue. “She told me, ‘No matter what, just keep making music and everything’s going to be fine.’”

The younger musician is currently gearing up to release her debut album, Y2K!, on July 26. After teasing that the project features more than one A-list collaboration, many fans have speculated that Swift may make an appearance for a “Karma” sequel — but Ice isn’t giving anything away just yet.  

“I don’t know,” she said at the BET Awards in June when asked about the rumors, giving a coy smile. “Let’s see, let’s see, let’s see.” 

See the moment Ice Spice blew kisses at her crowd while “Karma” played at her Rolling Loud Europe set.