LOS ANGELES — Lisa Marie Presley’s daughter is taking over as sole trustee of her late mother’s estate, according to a proposed settlement filed in court. Riley Keough filed a … Click to Continue »
A colorful cast of Donald Trump’s supporters descended on the grounds around Trump National Doral Monday, hoisting flags, posters and donning Uncle Sam costumes to support the former president, who … Click to Continue »
Young men of color from schools in Miami-Dade and Duval counties have pledged that they will use the $2.7 million earned in scholarships to follow their dreams and go to … Click to Continue »

A man who unsuccessfully sued Cardi B after his giant back tattoo was unwittingly photoshopped into one of her album covers has agreed to repay a whopping $350,000 in legal bills that the superstar spent defeating his lawsuit.

Months after a jury rejected Kevin Brophy’s case against Cardi, his lawyers told a federal judge Monday (June 12) that he would not only reimburse the money that the rapper had dropped on her attorneys but also voluntarily end his efforts to revive the case and waive any chance at a future appeal.

Related

Why would he do all that? Possibly because Cardi’s lawyers were gearing up to formally demand that he repay her attorneys’ fees — a prize to which she was potentially eligible after beating his accusations in court. Under that process, Cardi and her pricey team of lawyers could have won even more than $350,000.

“The parties now have reached an agreement avoiding the necessity of defendants’ motion for attorney’s fees and application to tax costs,” the two sides wrote in Monday’s filing, hinting at the looming threat of such a fee motion from Cardi’s team.

Attorneys for both sides declined to comment on the agreement when reached by Billboard on Monday.

Brophy sued Cardi in 2017 for millions in damages, claiming he was “devastated, humiliated and embarrassed” by the cover of Cardi’s Gangsta Bitch. The image featured the then-rising star taking a swig of a large beer, staring directly into the camera with her legs spread wide and holding a man’s head while he appears to perform oral sex on her.

The actual man in the image was a model who had consented to the shoot, but a giant tattoo on the man’s back belonged to Brophy. Unbeknownst to Cardi, a freelance graphic designer had typed “back tattoos” into Google Image Search, found one that fit (Brophy’s) and superimposed it onto the model’s body.

Brophy’s lawsuit claimed Cardi and others involved in the cover had used his likeness without his consent and also violated his right to privacy by casting him in a “false light” that was “highly offensive.” Cardi’s lawyers called the allegations “sheer fantasy” and “vastly overblown,” arguing that nobody would have recognized a relatively unknown man based merely on his back.

During a four-day trial in October, Cardi took the stand to defend herself. When examined by Brophy’s attorney, A. Barry Cappello, things repeatedly got heated between the two — so much so that at one point the judge cleared the jury, told Cappello he had “totally crossed the line” and threatened to declare a mistrial.

At the end of the trial, the jury agreed with the superstar’s defenses, clearing Cardi of all Brophy’s claims. Brophy later asked the judge to throw out the verdict for a lack of evidence, but the judge denied that motion in December. Brophy then filed a motion in January seeking a new trial, arguing that the star “engaged in theatrics” on the witness stand and deprived him of a fair trial.

Under Monday’s agreement, that motion will be withdrawn, and Brophy will “waive and irrevocably relinquish” any chance to challenge the verdict on appeal. In return, Cardi’s attorneys will similarly waive their right to file a motion formally seeking an award of attorneys’ fees.

Garth Brooks kicked off his Inside Studio G livestream on Monday (June 12) by addressing some backlash to comments he made to Billboard last week about carrying all beers — including Bud Light — at his Nashville bar.

The country superstar made the original comments last week in a Billboard Country Live Q&A with Melinda Newman, Billboard‘s executive editor, West Coast and Nashville. “I know this sounds corny, but I want it to be the Chick-Fil-A of honky-tonks,” he said during the conversation about his Friends in Low Places Bar & Honky Tonk, currently under construction in Nashville. “I want it to be a place you feel safe in, I want it to be a place where you feel like there are manners and people like one another. And yes, we’re going to serve every brand of beer. We just are. It’s not our decision to make. Our thing is this: If you come into this house, love one another. If you’re an a–hole, there are plenty of other places on lower Broadway you can go.”

Related

The comments — made after Bud Light came under fire earlier this year from Kid Rock and other vocal critics for partnering with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney — kicked up a new round of backlash, this time against Brooks, from the likes of Florida congressman Matt Gaetz and others on social media.

For his part, Brooks is unbothered by the response, doubling down on his message of love and inclusion during Monday’s Inside Studio G, which streams weekly on the singer’s Facebook page.

“We did an interview with Melinda Newman from Billboard, and from that came quite a little bit of a stir,” he said. “So let’s … address two things on it. One is diversity. Inclusiveness: That’s me. That’s always been me. We got the same kind of thing on ‘We Shall Be Free,’ people wanting to burn our stuff, and I get it,” he said, referencing the 1992 song he wrote after being in Los Angeles for the ACM Awards during the L.A. Riots; “We Shall Be Free” peaked at No. 12 on Hot Country Songs – his first track to miss the top 10 on the chart up to that point, due to some country stations banning the track.

“Everybody’s got their opinions,” he added during the livestream. “But inclusiveness is always going to be me. I think diversity is the answer to the problems that are here and the problems that are coming. So I love diversity. All-inclusive, so all are welcome. I understand that that might not be other people’s opinions, but that’s OK, man. They have their opinions, they have their beliefs; I have mine.

“Second thing, though: Let’s talk about being a bar owner,” he continued. “I’m a bar owner now. Are we going to have the most popular beers in the thing? Yes. That’s not our call if we don’t or not. It’s the patrons’ call — the bosses, right? Bring ’em in there. If they don’t want it, then I got to go to the distributor and say, ‘Man, your stuff’s not selling.’ And then action gets taken. But the truth is, it’s those people in those seats that make those decisions, and that’s what Friends in Low Places is going to be.”

Brooks finished his response by continuing to encourage a loving environment in his future bar. “Here’s the deal, man: If you want to come to Friends in Low Places, come in. Come in with love. Come in with tolerance, patience. Come in with an open mind, and it’s cool. And if you’re one of those people who just can’t do that, I get it. If you ever are one of those people who want to try, come! Let’s have some fun. I don’t know how to explain it any better than that.”

The country star continues his Garth Brooks/Plus ONE Las Vegas residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace next month, with his next date on July 6.

Watch Brooks’ new Inside Studio G livestream and part of his Billboard Country Live Q&A below.

Cardi B is fresh off the release of putting her spin on a remix of Latto‘s “Put It On Da Floor,” and now she’s shaking what her mama gave her to celebrate.

The “Bodak Yellow” rapper took to Twitter on Monday (June 12) to share a brief video in which her bottom is seen on full display underneath a minidress, as she spanks herself a few times. “YALL DID THAT !!! Put it on the floor then !!” she captioned the post.

While Cardi didn’t specify what the video is in reference to, “Put It on da Floor Again” earned an impressive 3.92 million U.S. on-demand streams last Friday, a 554% increase from the previous day’s streams, according to Luminate. 

The Grammy-winning rapper has been bringing the heat to social media in recent weeks, as she took to Instagram last week to welcome summer with a sizzling series of photos, in which she’s seen rocking a sleek white one-piece swimsuit with cut outs on the sides. She also recently teased some exciting things on the way. “You guys can expect a lot from me this summer,” she told Rolling Stone, which added that Cardi was specifically referring to music and other projects. “I promise,” she added. A new album would mark her first full-length project since her 2018 debut, Invasion of Privacy.

See Cardi’s bootylicious post below.

Idina Menzel rocked the stage at WeHo Pride and chatted with Billboard News about the differences between her Broadway and Pride performances, the upcoming ‘Frozen 3,’ her new music, a potential return to Broadway and more!

Tetris Kelly:
Hanging out at WeHo Pride with the beautiful Idina Menzel. How are you?

Idina Menzel:
I’m good, thank you!

Tetris Kelly:
It was so great to watch you perform tonight, and now that “Move” is out in the world, how has your fans reaction been to the new single?

Idina Menzel:
I think it might be something people didn’t expect of me but once they hear it, I think they’ll think it’s a pretty organic transition. You know, big voices, great disco grooves.

Tetris Kelly:
We love the disco grooves and even watching your set tonight, I was like, this feels very queer-inspired. Am I right about that? Because I was feeling myself.

Idina Menzel:
Well, it’s Idina-inspired. Idina’s life maybe is synonymous with the queer-inspired stores. It’s about having to find my self-esteem and empower myself to get up every day and believe in who I am, and live my life authentically, which is honestly what I learned from all my friends in this community. And I probably wouldn’t be where I am today if I hadn’t learned how to conduct myself in this world, if it wasn’t for them.

Thank you all for showing up. Let’s let them hear our anger and our madness and our frustration.

Tetris Kelly:
Living your life authentically. I love that. You’re also performing at London Pride, and you’re here at WeHo Pride. So tell me what’s different about these shows versus the average Idina show.

Idina Menzel:
Everybody’s standing, which is really cool. No offense to Broadway or the theater, but everyone needs to sit and behave. Here, they don’t have to behave so much. They can stand, they can dance, they can scream, and that just feels really good.

Tetris Kelly:
I love that. And you know, the community has been under a lot of attack lately. The drag community, the trans community — have you ever been at like a drag show and been like “This is everything to me”? Because we’ve seen the “Let It Go” drag queens, like, tell me how have you been inspired by the drag community?

Watch the full video above.

Alongside Stray Kids’ ‘5-STAR’ at No. 1, there are five new albums that reached the top 10 of the Billboard 200, including titles from Jelly Roll, ENHYPEN and Metro Boomin. Britney Spears makes a statement after The Sun and The Daily Mail report that Britney Spears’ ex Kevin Federline claimed that the singer was on drugs. Bailey Zimmerman plays Never Have I Ever. So much went down at LA Pride and we are going to break down every electrifying performance with a surprise guest. And more!

Tetris Kelly:
We’ve got a major mixup on the charts. Britney and Kevin Federline are fighting back against wild rumors. We take you to LA Pride to see Megan Thee Stallion and Mariah. Idina Menzel talks new music and performing for Pride and Bailey Zimmerman plays Never Have I Ever.

Tetris Kelly 0:19
Welcome back to Billboard News. I’m Tetris Kelly and it’s Monday, June 12th, which means we’ve got brand-new charts to run down. So much new movement on our albums chart as Morgan keeps a hold on the singles chart.

Tetris Kelly 0:39
Stray Kids lead a busy week in the top 10 on the Billboard 200 albums chart dated June 17, as the pop group debuts at No. 1 with ‘5-STAR.’ It’s the Korean act’s third chart entry and third to debut at No. 1 as it launches with 249,500 equivalent album units earned. Also in the top 10, five other new titles arrive. Jelly Roll’s ‘Whitsitt Chapel’ starts at No. 3 and ENHYPEN’s ‘Dark Blood’ bows at No. 4.

Tetris Kelly 1:12
Metro Boomin’s ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ soundcheck flies into No. 7. Foo Fighters’ ‘But Here We Are’ starts at No. 8, and Moneybagg Yo’s ‘Hard to Love’ enter at No. 10. Over on the Hot 100, Morgan Wallen is going nowhere as ‘Last Night’ is locked at No. 1.

Watch the full video above!

A week after a father died from gunshot wounds taken in front of his mother and 1-year-old child, Miami-Dade police are asking for the public’s help finding their 19-year-old murder … Click to Continue »
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez teased a “major announcement” this week during a round of television interviews that aired Sunday morning, hinting that he may formally launch a campaign for the … Click to Continue »