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Former President Donald Trump is renewing attention to his long history of turning a blind eye to bigotry after dining with a Holocaust-denying white nationalist and the rapper formerly known as Kanye West just days into his third campaign for the White House.
Trump had dinner Tuesday (Nov. 22) at his Mar-a-Lago club with West, who is now known as Ye, as well as Nick Fuentes, a far-right activist who has used his online platform to spew antisemitic and white nationalist rhetoric.
Ye, who says he, too, is running for president in 2024, has made his own series of antisemitic comments in recent weeks, leading to his suspension from social media platforms, his talent agency dropping him and companies like Adidas cutting ties with him. The sportswear manufacturer has also launched an investigation into his conduct.
In a statement from the White House, spokesman Andrew Bates said: “Bigotry, hate, and antisemitism have absolutely no place in America — including at Mar-a-Lago. Holocaust denial is repugnant and dangerous, and it must be forcefully condemned.”
Trump, in a series of statements Friday, said he had “never met and knew nothing about” Fuentes before he arrived with Ye at his club. But Trump also did not acknowledge Fuentes’ long history of racist and antisemitic remarks, nor did he denounce either man’s defamatory statements.
Trump wrote of Ye on his social media platform that “we got along great, he expressed no anti-Semitism, & I appreciated all of the nice things he said about me on ‘Tucker Carlson.’” He added, “Why wouldn’t I agree to meet?”
The former president has a long history of failing to unequivocally condemn hate speech. During his 2016 campaign, Trump waffled when asked to denounce the KKK after he was endorsed by the group’s former leader, saying in a televised interview that he didn’t “know anything about David Duke.” In 2017, in the aftermath of the deadly white supremacist protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, Trump was widely criticized for saying there was “blame on both sides” for the violence. And his rallies frequently feature inflammatory rhetoric from figures like U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who spoke earlier this year at a far-right conference organized by Fuentes.
The latest episode, coming just one week after Trump launched his third run for the Republican nomination, also underscored how loosely controlled access to the former president remained, particularly without a traditional campaign operation in place.
Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club came under intense scrutiny amid revelations that Trump was storing hundreds of documents with classified markings there — sparking a federal investigation. But the club — and the people it gave access to Trump — had long been a source of consternation among former White House aides.
Mar-a-Lago is not only Trump’s home, but also a private club and event space. Paid members and their guests dine alongside him and often mingle with him; members of the public can book weddings, fundraisers and other events, and Trump often drops by.
Ye first shared details of the dinner in a video he posted to his Twitter account Thursday. Ye said he had traveled to Florida to ask Trump to be his 2024 running mate, and that the meeting had grown heated, with Trump “perturbed” by his request and Ye angered by Trump’s criticism of his estranged wife, Kim Kardashian.
“When Trump started basically screaming at me at the table telling me I was gonna lose. I mean, has that ever worked for anyone in history, telling Ye that I’m going to lose?” Ye asked in the video. “You’re talking to Ye!”
Ye also said Trump was “really impressed with Nick Fuentes,” whom he described as “actually a loyalist” and said he’d asked Trump, “Why when you had the chance did you not free the January 6th-ers?” referring to the defendants who were alleged to have participated in the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Trump released a series of statements Friday trying to explain the circumstances of the meeting.
“Kanye West very much wanted to visit Mar-a-Lago. Our dinner meeting was intended to be Kanye and me only, but he arrived with a guest whom I had never met and knew nothing about,” Trump said in his first statement released by his campaign.
Not long after, Trump took to his social media network to say that Ye and “three of his friends, whom I knew nothing about” had “unexpectedly showed up” at his club.
“We had dinner on Tuesday evening with many members present on the back patio. The dinner was quick and uneventful. They then left for the airport,” he wrote.
Hours later he again posted, saying he had told Ye that he “should definitely not run for President,” and that “any voters you may have should vote for TRUMP.”
“Anyway, we got along great, he expressed no anti-Semitism, & I appreciated all of the nice things he said about me on ‘Tucker Carlson.’” he added. “Why wouldn’t I agree to meet? Also, I didn’t know Nick Fuentes.”
Fuentes, meanwhile, said after the trip that, while he couldn’t rule out that Trump had heard of him, “I don’t think he knew that I was me at the dinner.”
“I didn’t mean for my statements and my whole background to sort of become a public relations problem for the president,” he added on his show.
The meeting drew immediate criticism from Trump critics as well as some supporters, including David Friedman, who served as Trump’s ambassador to Israel.
“To my friend Donald Trump, you are better than this. Even a social visit from an antisemite like Kanye West and human scum like Nick Fuentes is unacceptable,” Friedman wrote in a tweet. “I urge you to throw those bums out, disavow them and relegate them to the dustbin of history where they belong.”
On Saturday, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a potential 2024 rival, also denounced antisemitism, without directly referencing the dinner or the president under whom he served.
“Anti-Semitism is a cancer,” Pompeo wrote, adding: “We stand with the Jewish people in the fight against the world’s oldest bigotry.”
Biden, asked about the Trump dinner meeting while vacationing in Nantucket, Massachusetts, replied, “You don’t want to hear what I think.”
Jonathan “Hovain” Hylton, who was recently honored as one of Billboard’s 2022 R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players, has died.
“It is with deep regret that we message to all family, friends and colleagues that Jonathan ‘Hovain’ Hylton passed away while at his home on Friday, November 25. He was a beloved and devoted father, husband, son, brother and a proud Brooklyn representative,” read a statement posted Saturday (Nov. 26) on Hylton’s verified social media accounts.
The statement continued, “We’d like to thank all of his close friends for all of the love and support that you have shown during this difficult time. We ask that you all continue to keep his family in your prayers and respect their privacy at this time.”
A cause of death has not been disclosed.
On Friday morning, Hylton had last tweeted, “Good morning and thank GOD for another day,” a message he had been putting out into the world daily.
Hylton, a Brooklyn native who was a vp at Cinematic Music Group, was named alongside founder Jonnyshipes on this year’s R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players list.
“I’ve always prided myself on just being a good person and a hard worker. Never was big on awards. The way I came in this game was the independent route so I always knew caring too much about the politics wasn’t going to help me. But it feels good to be honored as one of Billboard’s Power Players alongside my brother and partner @jonnyshipes,” Hylton wrote on Instagram on Nov. 17. He added, “I think the biggest lesson is this is you don’t have to be a sucka or do corny s— to be recognized. Just be a good person and do your job and God will make the rest happen on his time.”
Throughout his career Hylton helmed projects for prominent New York rappers including Cam’ron, Styles P and Lloyd Banks, and alongside Jonnyshipes at Cinematic Music Group worked with artists including T-Pain and Flipp Dinero.
Hylton was also a professor at Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn, where he taught “The Business of Music,” an eight-week course offering students in-depth knowledge on publishing deals, business positions needed for an artist’s success and more.
“It’s an amazing opportunity to come from where I come from and to be asked to teach at such a fine institute,” Hylton told Billboard in 2021, when the course launched. “To share my love for music with the young minds who are looking to learn [will be a great experience].”
The music community mourned the death of Hylton on Saturday.
“Maaannnn we lost my brother in drip @hovain love you brother you always showed nothing but love and positivity. My condolences to your family,” Fat Joe wrote on Instagram. “Till we meet again RIP.”
“Damn Hov… Rest Up… Appreciate your knowledge & your positive energy… May God Bless your family with peace. Love & Light from my family to yours. Long Live Hovain,’ T.I. wrote on Twitter.
“Hovain had just hit me up about doing some music with lloyd banks,” Hit-Boy tweeted. “God bless his family.”
Beyoncé was the top winner at the Soul Train Awards, which aired on BET and BET Her on Saturday (Nov. 27). She won album of the year for the fourth time with Renaissance, song of the year for the third time with “Break My Soul,” and best collaboration for “Make Me Say It Again, Girl,” a pairing with Ronald Isley & The Isley Brothers.
This is the fifth consecutive year that a female solo artist has won album of the year. Bey’s victory was preceded by wins for H.E.R.’s H.E.R., Lizzo’s Cuz I Love You, Summer Walker’s Over It and Jazmine Sullivan’s Heaux Tales.
Beyoncé was not, however, present at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, where the show was taped earlier this month. The BET Awards are very much a show about performances and tributes, not awards. Just two competitive categories were presented over the course of the two-hour show.
Lizzo, Mary J. Blige and Muni Long were also among the winners at the 2022 Soul Train Awards, which were hosted by actor and comedian Deon Cole. Lizzo won best dance performance for “About Damn Time.” Blige received the Certified Soul award (formerly known as the Centric Award). Long took the Ashford & Simpson songwriter’s award for “Hrs & Hrs.” All three of these artists, as well as Beyoncé, were nominated in Big Four categories at the upcoming Grammy Awards.
Sullivan won best R&B/soul female artist for the second year in a row, beating Beyoncé, who has won in that category a record four times, but not since 2016.
Chris Brown took best R&B/soul male artist for the second time in three years. Giveon won the award last year.
Silk Sonic won video of the year for the second year in a row with “Smokin’ Out the Window.” The retro-soul duo took the award last year for “Leave the Door Open.” The duo’s Bruno Mars won in that same category for “24K Magic” (2017) and “Finesse” (remix featuring Cardi B, 2018).
Tems won best new artist, beating Long and the red-hot Steve Lacy, among others. The Nigerian singer is the first winner in this category who hails from Africa. Tems was featured on Wizkid’s global hit “Essence,” which won best collaboration last year.
Maverick City Music x Kirk Franklin took the best gospel/inspirational award. It’s Franklin’s fourth consecutive win in that category – and his fifth overall.
Ari Lennox, who went into the show with six nominations, trailing only seven-time nominees Beyoncé and Blige, was shut out. Lennox nonetheless performed her current single, “Waste My Time” on the show. Four-time nominees Burna Boy and Lacy were also shut out.
Xscape became the second all-female group (following SWV) to receive the Lady of Soul honor. The award was presented by Jermaine Dupri, their producer and So So Def Recordings founder.
Iconic funk band Morris Day & The Time received the Legend Award, presented to them by JB Smoove.
Here’s the complete list of 2022 Soul Train Awards nominees, with winners marked:
Album of the Year
An Evening With Silk Sonic, Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars & Anderson .Paak)
Away Message (EP), Ari Lennox
Breezy, Chris Brown
Good Morning Gorgeous, Mary J. Blige
Heaux Tales, Mo’ Tales: The Deluxe, Jazmine Sullivan
R&B Money, Tank
WINNER: Renaissance, Beyoncé
Special, Lizzo
Song of the Year
“About Damn Time,” Lizzo
“Bad Habit,” Steve Lacy
WINNER: “Break My Soul,” Beyoncé
“Good Morning Gorgeous,” Mary J. Blige
“Hrs & Hrs,” Muni Long
“Last Last,” Burna Boy
“Pressure,” Ari Lennox
Video of the Year
“About Damn Time,” Lizzo
“Bad Habit,” Steve Lacy
“Good Morning Gorgeous,” Mary J. Blige
“Have Mercy,” Chlöe
“Hrs & Hrs,” Muni Long
“Last Last,” Burna Boy
“Pressure,” Ari Lennox
WINNER: “Smokin Out the Window,” Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars & Anderson .Paak)
Best New Artist
CKay
Coco Jones
Dixson
Doechii
Fireboy DML
Muni Long
Steve Lacy
WINNER: Tems
Best R&B/Soul Female Artist
Ari Lennox
Beyoncé
H.E.R.
WINNER: Jazmine Sullivan
LizzoMary J. Blige
SZA
Tems
Best R&B/Soul Male Artist
Babyface
Brent Faiyaz
Burna Boy
Charlie Wilson
WINNER: Chris Brown
Giveon
Lucky Daye
PJ Morton
Best Collaboration
“Amazing,” Mary J. Blige feat. DJ Khaled
“Be Like Water,” PJ Morton feat. Stevie Wonder & Nas
“Call Me Every Day,” Chris Brown feat. Wizkid
“Gotta Move On,” Diddy feat. Bryson Tiller
“Hate Our Love,” Queen Naija & Big Sean
WINNER: “Make Me Say It Again, Girl,” Ronald Isley & The Isley Brothers feat. Beyoncé
“Move,” Beyoncé feat. Grace Jones & Tems
“Slow,” Tank feat. J. Valentine
Certified Soul Award
Chaka Khan
Charlie Wilson
Diana Ross
WINNER: Mary J. Blige
Maxwell
PJ Morton
Ronald Isley & The Isley Brothers
T-Pain
The Ashford and Simpson Songwriter’s Award
“Bad Habit,” Steve Lacy
“Break My Soul,” Beyoncé
“Church Girl,” Beyoncé
“Good Morning Gorgeous,” Mary J. Blige
WINNER: “Hrs & Hrs,” Muni Long
“I Hate U,” SZA
“Last, Last,” Burna Boy
“Pressure,” Ari Lennox
Best Dance Performance
WINNER: “About Damn Time,” Lizzo
“Call Me Every Day,” Chris Brown feat. Wizkid
“Have Mercy,” Chlöe
“Persuasive,” Doechii
“Pressure,” Ari Lennox
“Smokin Out the Window,” Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars & Anderson .Paak)
“We (Warm Embrace),” Chris Brown
“Woman,” Doja Cat
Best Gospel/Inspirational Award
CeCe Winans
Erica Campbell
Fred Hammond
Major.
Marvin Sapp
WINNER: Maverick City Music X Kirk Franklin
Tamela Mann
Tasha Cobbs Leonard
Legend Award: The Time
Lady of Soul Award: Xscape
Selena Gomez and BLACKPINK are together at last.
After collaborating on their sweet pop tune “Ice Cream” in 2020 — but filming the music video for the song separately, to be safe during the pandemic — Gomez and BLACKPINK have now crossed paths in person.
On Saturday (Nov. 26), Gomez shared a slideshow of photos of herself posing with Jisoo, Rosé, Jennie and Lisa, with everyone looking happy to be in each other’s company.
“Selpink chillin,” Gomez captioned her pictures with BLACKPINK.
Gomez wore jeans with a black top and coat, while the girls of BLACKPINK — who have been on tour — dressed in cute, coordinating band merch.
See their photos together on Instagram.
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A celebration of soul and R&B. The 2022 Soul Train Awards, helmed by actor-comedian Deon Cole, will premiere Saturday, Nov. 26, at 8 p.m. ET.
The star-studded ceremony, which was pre-taped at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas earlier this month, will feature performances from Ari Lennox, Tank, SiR, Muni Long, Chante Moore and Tosha Cobbs Leonard.
Beyoncé and Mary J. Blige lead this year’s nominations with seven nods each. Coming in a close second is Lennox with six nominations. Lizzo and Chris Brown nabbed five each.
Queen Bey and the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul face off for major awards such as the coveted album of the year category alongside Lizzo, Lenox, Brown, Silk Sonic, Jazmine Sullivan and Tank.
Read on for ways to watch and stream the show without cable.
2022 Soul Train Awards: How to Watch
The 2022 Soul Train Awards will premiere at 8 p.m. ET on BET. The ceremony will simulcast on BET Her, Logo, MTV2 and VH1. If you have cable, satellite or live TV, check your local listings for channel information.
If you don’t have cable, you’re in luck! You can stream the 2022 Soul Train Awards for free on Philo. The streaming service is celebrating Black Friday and Cyber Monday with a mega-deal that drops the price down to just $5 for the first month (regular price is $25/month). Use code: THANKS to redeem this limited promo offer which ends Nov. 30 (click here for more streaming deals).
Philo carries 70+ live channels, including BET, Lifetime, AMC, A&E, ID, OWN, TV One, Paramount Network, VH1 and Food Network.
Philo
$5/month (with code: THANKS)
$25/month
80% off% OFF
Want more streaming options? Watch the 2022 Soul Train Awards live and on-demand through platforms like DirectTV Stream, Sling and FuboTV. Although they’re more expensive than Philo, they’re cheaper than your average cable package and most come with a free trial.
The 2022 Soul Train Awards will include tributes to iconic music groups such as Morris Day and The Time, who will receive the Legend Award, while Xscape will be honored with this year’s Lady of Soul Award.
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Former rivals Nas and Jay-Z find themselves on equal footing in one regard on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart, as Nas’ King’s Disease III debuts at No. 10 on the chart dated Nov. 26. With the arrival, the Queens MC lands his 16th top 10, tying Jay-Z for the most among rappers in the chart’s history.
King’s Disease III opens with 29,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Nov. 17, according to Luminate; 20,000 units of the starting sum derive from streams, equaling 26.5 million official on-demand streams of the album’s songs. Of the remaining units, 8,500 are in traditional album sales, with the outstanding balance owed to track-equivalent album units. (One unit equals the following levels of consumption: one album sale, 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams for a song on the album.)
As the new album enters the list, here’s an updated leaderboard for the rappers with the most top 10 albums on the Billboard 200:
16, Jay-Z
16, Nas
15, Drake
15, Future
12, Eminem
12, Lil Wayne
12, YoungBoy Never Broke Again
11, Jeezy
11, Kanye West
11, Snoop Dogg
Elsewhere, King’s Disease III begins at No. 4 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and at No. 3 on Top Rap Albums. On the former, it becomes Nas’ 18th top 10, the second-best sum among rappers there, behind Jay-Z’s 21.
King’s Disease III is the third installment of what has become an annual series from Nas. The first edition arrived in August 2020 and peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200. Its next iteration came 12 months later and improved on the original, starting at a No. 3 best on the Billboard 200. Between King’s Disease II and King’s Disease III, Nas released another album, Magic, which reached No. 27 this January.
