Brandi Carlile is set to perform at the 30th annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards viewing party, taking place March 27.

The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter will join a lineup of performers, the rest of whom will be announced in the coming weeks. Last year’s event went virtual first the first time, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but 2022’s event will be returning in person, organizers said Monday.

The party, which coincides with the 30th anniversary of the Elton John AIDS Foundation, raises funds to support the foundation’s efforts to “challenge discrimination, prevent infections and provide treatment as well as influencing governments to end AIDS.”

“David (Furnish) and I are so grateful to celebrate 30 years of the foundation and especially grateful to Brandi Carlile and the many fabulous guests supporting us for another magnificent night in West Hollywood Park,” John said. “Our success reflects the passion, commitment and generosity of our supporters. Together, we are making a difference and bringing light and hope to people living with HIV around the world.”

Added Furnish, chairman of the foundation: “We want to remind people that while the coronavirus has consumed headlines for the past two years, HIV/AIDS is still a global epidemic. It remains paramount to continue raising funds and awareness towards issues affecting people living with and at risk of HIV, and there is no better platform than our annual Academy Awards viewing party to do just that.”

For her part, Carlile called it an “absolute honor” to be able to perform at the event, especially as it celebrates its 30th anniversary.

Carlile is nominated for five Grammys this year, including record of the year (for “Right on Time”) and two in the song of the year category (for “Right on Time” and “A Beautiful Noise,” with Alicia Keys). She has collaborated with John multiple times, including on the song “Simple Things.”

This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek says he “strongly” condemns Joe Rogan’s use of the N-word and other derogatory comments toward Black people but remains firm in his decision to keep the podcaster on the platform in order to “[elevate] all types of creators.”

In a letter sent to staff, obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Ek acknowledged that Rogan’s comments were “incredibly hurtful” and confirmed that Rogan decided to remove multiple past episodes from Spotify but said he did not believe in removing the podcast from Spotify.

“I want to make one point very clear — I do not believe that silencing Joe is the answer,” Ek wrote. “We should have clear lines around content and take action when they are crossed, but canceling voices is a slippery slope.”

Last Thursday, the musician India.Arie — who has said she will remove her music and podcast from Spotify in protest of Rogan’s comments about race — resurfaced a compilation of video clips showing Rogan using the racial slur and describing being with Black people as akin to “Planet of the Apes.” The podcaster apologized over the weekend, calling his comments “regretful and shameful.”

By Friday, around 70 episodes of The Joe Rogan Experience were removed from Spotify, according to the website JRE Missing which tracks when the podcast episodes are missing from the streaming platform.

In his letter to staff, Ek said he would be committing to an “incremental investment of $100 million for the licensing, development, and marketing of music (artists and songwriters) and audio content from historically marginalized groups” to boost “all types of creators,” including those from underrepresented backgrounds.

“While some might want us to pursue a different path, I believe that more speech on more issues can be highly effective in improving the status quo and enhancing the conversation altogether,” Ek said.

See the full letter below.

Spotify Team,

There are no words I can say to adequately convey how deeply sorry I am for the way The Joe Rogan Experience controversy continues to impact each of you. Not only are some of Joe Rogan’s comments incredibly hurtful – I want to make clear that they do not represent the values of this company. I know this situation leaves many of you feeling drained, frustrated and unheard.

I think it’s important you’re aware that we’ve had conversations with Joe and his team about some of the content in his show, including his history of using some racially insensitive language. Following these discussions and his own reflections, he chose to remove a number of episodes from Spotify. He also issued his own apology over the weekend.

While I strongly condemn what Joe has said and I agree with his decision to remove past episodes from our platform, I realize some will want more. And I want to make one point very clear – I do not believe that silencing Joe is the answer. We should have clear lines around content and take action when they are crossed, but canceling voices is a slippery slope. Looking at the issue more broadly, it’s critical thinking and open debate that powers real and necessary progress.

Another criticism that I continue to hear from many of you is that it’s not just about The Joe Rogan Experience on Spotify; it comes down to our direct relationship with him. In last week’s Town Hall, I outlined to you that we are not the publisher of JRE. But perception due to our exclusive license implies otherwise. So I’ve been wrestling with how this perception squares with our values.

If we believe in having an open platform as a core value of the company, then we must also believe in elevating all types of creators, including those from underrepresented communities and a diversity of backgrounds. We’ve been doing a great deal of work in this area already but I think we can do even more. So I am committing to an incremental investment of $100 million for the licensing, development, and marketing of music (artists and songwriters) and audio content from historically marginalized groups. This will dramatically increase our efforts in these areas. While some might want us to pursue a different path, I believe that more speech on more issues can be highly effective in improving the status quo and enhancing the conversation altogether.

I deeply regret that you are carrying so much of this burden. I also want to be transparent in setting the expectation that in order to achieve our goal of becoming the global audio platform, these kinds of disputes will be inevitable. For me, I come back to centering on our mission of unlocking the potential of human creativity and enabling more than a billion people to enjoy the work of what we think will be more than 50 million creators. That mission makes these clashes worth the effort.

I’ve told you several times over the last week, but I think it’s critical we listen carefully to one another and consider how we can and should do better. I’ve spent this time having lots of conversations with people inside and outside of Spotify – some have been supportive while others have been incredibly hard, but all of them have made me think.

One of the things I am thinking about is what additional steps we can take to further balance creator expression with user safety. I’ve asked our teams to expand the number of outside experts we consult with on these efforts and look forward to sharing more details.

Your passion for this company and our mission has made a difference in the lives of so many listeners and creators around the world. I hope you won’t lose sight of that. It’s that ability to focus and improve Spotify even on some of our toughest days that has helped us build the platform we have. We have a clear opportunity to learn and grow together from this challenge and I am ready to meet it head on.

I know it is difficult to have these conversations play out so publicly, and I continue to encourage you to reach out to your leaders, your HR partners or me directly if you need support or resources for yourself or your team.

Daniel

This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.

Billie Eilish briefly stopped her show this weekend to help a fan in the crowd who needed an inhaler, according to concert footage captured by fans.

In a video clip that surfaced on social media, the singer, currently on the road for Happier Than Ever, The World Tour, is seen putting safety first as she looks out into the audience with concern. “You need an inhaler?” she asks before addressing her stage crew. “Do we have an inhaler? Can we just grab one?”

“It’s OK, we got one,” Eilish says, pointing to a concert attendee. “Give her some time. Don’t crowd.”

“I wait for people to be OK until I keep going,” she noted in another short video from the show obtained by TMZ, who reports that the moment was from Saturday night’s (Feb. 5) performance at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

In another fan clip, as fans cheer her on, Eilish is seen blowing a kiss and asking, “You need to come out or are you OK? Are you sure?” before mouthing “I love you.”

The tour just kicked off last week, on Feb. 3, in New Orleans before heading to Atlanta. Eilish next performs in in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Sunday night. See more about her tour dates here.

Happier Than Ever, The World Tour requires ticket holders to provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination or proof of a negative COVID-19 diagnostic test within 48 hours prior to entry, in addition to wearing a mask, in an effort to keep fans, Eilish and her band, and the tour crew healthy.

Watch the videos of Eilish helping a fan from the stage below.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by billie eilish fanpage (@wishyouwerebil)

Awkwafina returned to Twitter after a two-year absence on Saturday (Feb. 5) to address longstanding criticism over her use of a “blaccent” and appropriation of Black culture.

In a statement that also indicated she would be “retiring from Twitter,” the Crazy Rich Asians and Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings star denies that her use of AAVE, or African American Vernacular English, as well as her “blaccent” — a voice that stereotypically imitates forms of Black American dialect — were meant to mock Black people.

Early in her message, the actress acknowledged the sociopolitical and “historical context of the African American community” in the U.S. as one that has been “disproportionately affected by institutionalized policies and law enforcement policies.”

“All the while having historically and routinely seen their culture stolen, exploited and appropriated by the *dominant* culture for monetary gain, without acknowledgment nor respect for where those roots come from, the pioneers of its beginnings and the artists that perfected and mastered the craft,” she continued.

Without outright stating that she has participated in this herself, Awkwafina says that using it in her own language “never was” meant to be derogatory.

pic.twitter.com/pxSLXZD2J0

— nora (@awkwafina) February 5, 2022

“As a non-black POC, I stand by the fact that I will always listen and work tirelessly to understand the history and context of AAVE, what is deemed appropriate or backwards towards the progress of ANY and EVERY marginalized group,” she wrote. “But I must emphasize: to mock, belittle or to be unkind in any way possible at the expense of others is: Simply. Not. My. Nature. It never has, and it never was.”

Later in the lengthy statement, the Chinese Korean American actress pointed to the “fine line between offense and pop culture,” spurred by how AAVE has been appropriated and passed off as part of the “internet Tik-Tok slang generation” amid hip-hop’s shift into becoming a mainstream genre.

She attributes her own use of it to her immigrant background, public school environment, consumption of TV and film, as well as her “respect for hip-hop.”

“I think as a group, Asian Americans are still trying to figure out what that journey means for them, what is correct and where they don’t belong,” she said, “And though I’m still learning and doing that personal work, I know for sure that I want to spend the rest of my career doing nothing but lifting our communities. We do the first by failing, learning, acknowledging, hearing and empathizing and I will continue tirelessly to do just that.”

To Clarify: I am retiring from the ingrown toenail that is Twitter. Not retiring from anything else, even if I wanted to, and I didn’t drunkenly hit someone with a shoehorn and now escaping as a fugitive. Also am avail on all other socials that don’t tell you to kill yourself!

— nora (@awkwafina) February 5, 2022

The actress had previously been asked about her longstanding use of AAVE and a blaccent both in her comedy and dramatic roles in an interview with Reuters Showbiz in September 2021, offering a briefer response at the time.

“Um, you know, I’m open to the conversation,” the Queens native said. “I think it, you know, it’s really something that is a little bit multi-faceted and layered.”

.@awkwafina addresses controversy of her using a ‘blaccent’ in films: pic.twitter.com/razgNiTFke

— Reuters Showbiz (@ReutersShowbiz) September 10, 2021

Awkwafina — whose given name is Nora Lum — has been challenged on her use of AAVE and her blaccent by online critics as far back as her Tawk With Awkwafina show on the mobile-orientated social entertainment platform Go90. More recently, she’s faced backlash around her performances in Ocean’s 8 and Crazy Rich Asians, as well as during press for Shang-Chi, when old clips of her using a blaccent — as well as her statement in a Vice interview that “I refuse to do accents” when it comes to Asian characters — resurfaced.

Another wave of criticism followed the star of Comedy Central’s Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens after she was nominated for a 2022 NAACP Image Award for character voice-over performance in television or film for her work on Raya and the Last Dragon.

This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.

Lizzo posted an empowering message on social media that was soundtracked by what seems to be a new song, along with a video clip of herself in the nude.

“If you love me, you love all of me/ Or none of me at all,” Lizzo can be heard singing in an update shared on Instagram Saturday afternoon (Feb. 5).

The accompanying sensual visual features Lizzo naked and giving the camera an intense stare, while strategically covering parts of her body with her arms to make the clip safe to upload to social media.

In a caption for the short video, Lizzo wrote, “If you love me… you love all of me. You dont get to pick and choose. We should be unconditionally loving of one another, starting with being unconditionally loving to ourselves. Take a moment today and think about the conditions we hold so tightly to that keep us from the freedom of true love. Do you really wanna be so tightly wound? Free yourself in love. You deserve it.”

Lizzo recently played a new song called “Special” for her mother, and shared a clip of that moment with fans; the song was featured in a Logitech campaign. Her last single was the Hot 100 top 10 hit “Rumors” (featuring Cardi B), which dropped in August.

Watch Lizzo’s latest video below.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lizzo (@lizzobeeating)