Cardi B doesn’t play when it comes to her family. After seeing an unverified post on X feature a claim from Grok that her father was arrested on attempted rape charges, Cardi hopped on X on Monday (Jan. 5) to debunk the allegations.

“First thing first, my dad never been arrested in this county,” she wrote. “My dad is a immigrant from the Dominican Republic.. he would be deported if he committed such a disgusting crime!!”

Cardi continued to fire back: “I don’t know why yall like playing these games just for you to be fake mad when I post who got those real mugshots, real evidence, AND REAL cases for rape.. stop playing wit me and my family and leave me the f—k alone fr before I start some s—t today.”

The claim was resurfaced Jan. 4 from X account FemaleRapLive, which quoted an alleged screenshot of a post from Grok — a chatbot launched by xAI, which is owned by Elon Musk, who also owns X — claiming that “the charge is real, not a fake to smear Cardi” and telling readers to “check the court docs–public record doesn’t lie.” The actual Grok post from October 2025 alleges that public records show Almanzar was “convicted of attempted rape” in New York’s Nassau County “around 1993,” and that the rapper had addressed the claims in the past “without disputing the conviction itself.” A Grok post from September 2025 also claimed that the allegations against him “seem unfounded — records cited often mismatch his age and details,” and also noted that the star herself had previously called them false rumors. (Cardi tweeted in 2023 when this claim surfaced that her dad had “never been arrested.”)

Grok replied to another X user on Sunday (Jan. 4) claiming that it never claimed “Cardi B’s father is a sex offender” and that screenshot posted by FemaleRapLive was “fabricated.”

In a follow-up X post captured by The Jasmine Brand, Cardi threatened to start filing lawsuits against those spreading heinous rumors against the Bronx rapper and her family.

“I seen yall trying to spread that s—t all day yesterday,” she added. “Yall know I don’t play about my family, now when I start suing people then what?? What type of deranged people like to play around wit r@pe? I forgot that whole crew over there got a kink for that. Just f—n weirdos.”

Cardi went on to address the unsubstantiated claims about her father by sending out a warning to those who continue to make up lies about her father.

“Stop playing with my father. When it comes to my dad, I’m going to respond,” she said during an X Spaces on Monday. “I’m not gonna allow no lie to keep spreading. My dad always defend me. Ain’t no mugshots out there. Everybody just been obsessed.”

Based on my review of public records, news sources, and past statements, I never claimed Cardi B’s father is a sex offender—that screenshot is fabricated. Claims about Carlos Almanzar are unverified rumors, denied by Cardi B, with no matching court docs found. For official…

— Grok (@grok) January 4, 2026

Billboard has reached out to xAI, X, Musk and FemaleRapLive for comment.

Cardi proved her legal chops when she walked away victorious in a civil assault lawsuit in September, which saw jurors reject claims the rapper cut a security guard’s face during an altercation at a Los Angeles doctor’s office in 2018.

“This time around, I’m gonna be nice, but the next person that try to do a frivolous lawsuit against me — I’m going to countersue, and I’m gonna make you pay because this is not okay,” Cardi said following the ruling in her favor. “I work hard for my money for my kids and for people I take care of, so don’t you ever think that you gonna sue me, and I’m just gonna settle and just give you my money. It’s not gonna happen.”

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What better way to ring in the new year than by buying Mattel’s 2026 Lunar New Year Barbie doll?

With the Year of the Horse kicking off Feb. 17, toy company Mattel is ready to start celebrating. This fashion doll is available to preorder right now on Amazon and retails for $55. The collectible won’t arrive at your doorstep until February, and is set to officially release to on Jan. 30. That’s totally enough time, given Lunar New Year’s mid-February start. The decorative doll is clad in a rich red gown with a pleated peplum bodice and a blossoming golden peony print all down the skirt.

Peony florals symbolize prosperity, honor and elegance, and offer a welcome for fresh beginnings, a great mantra to have as we head into 2026. A glittering sheer gold shawl is tossed over Barbie’s shoulders, fanning out and around her floor-length dress. As for accessories, the Barbie is clad in matching golden peony earrings to represent good luck, and a pop of red on her lips and nails are inspired by a lucky red envelope. Matching gold strappy sandals adorn her feet. Barbie’s black tresses are parted in the middle and left straight to waterfall down her back.

The doll is not unlike the 2025 iteration with red and gold accents. The first Lunar New Year doll Mattel released was relatively recent, in January 2021. The company offers a range of themed dolls for various occasions, including birthdays, Día de Muertos, Diwali and Christmas.

If that wasn’t enough, the company has released a whole host of dolls to commemorate the legacy of actresses, musicians, athletes and more. The toy company has dolls dedicated to iconic music acts, including Cher, Tina Turner and Stevie Nicks. The Nicks doll was extremely popular in 2025, selling out just 24 hours after hitting shelves. It currently goes for a hefty price if you can find it, around $199 or more.

These themed dolls are great presents for birthdays or for those looking to fill their shelves with something they’ll want to pass down for generations. While these specific ones aren’t often played with in favor of keeping them in pristine condition, they still spark so much joy even within the box. If you’re celebrating this Lunar New Year, gift this doll to that special someone to help start their Year of the Horse off right.

Dax Shepard and Cher can agree on one thing: Kristen Bell deserves the best.

While interviewing the pop icon for his Armchair Expert podcast episode posted Monday (Jan. 5), the actor asked his guest who would be a better partner for his famous wife than him. “I know you think she could do better,” Shepard said of Bell, who joined in for the conversation and blushed as Shepard posed the question. “Who would be your pick?”

In response, Cher said of her Burlesque costar, “The truth is, I trust her.”

“So, you must have something that I don’t see,” she continued to Shepard. “And you seem like a good dad.”

The discussion came shortly after Shepard had touched on his past struggles with substance abuse, at which point he’d noted how grateful he feels to have ended up marrying Bell, with whom he now shares two girls. In the moment, Cher had quipped, “You’re lucky. She’s definitely the better half.”

“I understand, nobody’s good enough for her,” Shepard later added of the Nobody Wants This star, who then came to her husband’s defense.

“There’s a lot to this man … Trust me, he’s a slow burn, but you’re gonna learn to love him,” Bell assured Cher. “He’s almost too good for me.”

One thing the trio could definitely agree on was that a husband’s ability to support his wife’s success makes him more attractive. “I’ll tell you thing you should like about me,” Shepard told Cher. “I’m not threatened by [Kristen] shining. I love it. The shinier she gets, the better.”

“Alexander’s that way, too,” Cher responded, referencing her boyfriend, rapper Alexander “AE” Edwards. “The more I shine, the more he has fun.”

Cher’s podcast appearance comes ahead of the highly anticipated second part in her memoir series, which is expected to arrive later this year. The first part, Cher: The Memoir, was published in November 2024.

The first book delves into her tumultuous relationship with Sonny Bono, Cher’s ex-husband and former Sonny & Cher bandmate. On the podcast, the Grammy winner also touched on staying on good terms with Bono after their split — but “not with his wife.”

“No, because she’s trying to take all my money,” Cher added cheekily of Mary Bono, who recently appealed the former’s win against the latter in their legal battle for Sonny & Cher royalties. “It’s been fascinating.”

Watch Cher’s full appearance on Armchair Expert below.

As the co-founder and executive president of Starlite Music Group, Sandra García-Sanjuán is actively involved in everything related to the creative and innovative aspects of the company and its festivals, Starlite Occident Marbella and Starlite Occident Madrid.

“From seeing strategic partnerships, to everything related to brand building and what I call the magic — [I’m involved in] all the creative and artistic aspects,” she says. “I’m very involved in the lineup, the booking, all the content we incorporate, and the documentaries we create around Starlite.”

These “boutique” festivals, as she calls them — featuring top international artists, high-end gastronomy and nightlife parties — aim to offer closer and more exclusive experiences for attendees. The flagship festival in Marbella has been held throughout the summer since 2012, with more than 60 days of concerts at the Nagüeles Quarry, an open-air amphitheater built especially for the event. The Madrid edition, focused on Christmas and New Year’s, just celebrated its third edition at IFEMA Madrid, where it ran from Dec. 12-23.

With its third edition, Starlite Madrid offered a dozen concerts and aftershows with DJs, attracting around 82,000 attendees in total, according to the company. The lineup not only included renowned local and international stars like Ricky Martin, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Melendi, India Martínez, Manuel Carrasco, Miguel Poveda, Emmanuel and Mijares, but also hosted the Billboard No. 1s España show.

The special marked the first edition of Billboard No. 1s held outside the United States, and the first one dedicated entirely to Latin music. Over a dozen artists participated in the collaborative event between Starlite and Billboard, including Pablo Alborán, Ana Mena, Rosana, Omar Montes, Yami Safdie and Chucho Valdés.

Named Billboard Español‘s Executive of the Month for December 2025, García-Sanjuán speaks about her tireless work in music, her company’s association with what she calls the “Bible of music” and her inspiring philanthropic work.

How and when did this whole Starlite Marbella madness begin?

It was crazy, yes, because it started in 2012, which was a time of economic crisis in Spain. It arose, quite interestingly, from a philanthropic initiative. In 2010, [actor] Antonio Banderas and I started a charity gala in Marbella called the Starlite Gala, where we invited various celebrities and gave them an award and a tribute. I had my own company that specialized in booking artists for concerts and private events, and I was flying in artists from all over the world. And I started dedicating so much time to the gala, because, of course, organizing a gala is easy, but getting everything donated so that all the proceeds go to the foundations, that’s the hard part — it got to the point where it was so much work that I had my team working on the gala for six months without them being able to work on the business projects. And then we said, “Why don’t we make it easier? Let’s have a concert the day before and another the day after, and tell the artists to stay; they already have their band, they have everything.”

We also talked to the alcohol brands: “Hey, donate the alcohol for free for the charity gala, because I’ll buy it from you on the day of the concert, and we’ll sell the alcohol.” And we did the same with the stage company, and with the lighting company: “Hey, I’ll hire you for the stage and the lights, but you have to provide them for free for the day of the gala.” And look how it’s all turned out.

In the case of Starlite Madrid, was this third edition the biggest one yet?

It’s not the biggest one, because last year we ran it until the end of the year, and this year I preferred to focus on the pre-Christmas period. But I would say it’s the most successful, because it has truly become established. The first two years were about getting people to know about it, to recognize it, to understand what Starlite Madrid is and what it represents. Because, of course, in Marbella we were a novelty; there was nothing like it, and we quickly became a huge success many years ago. In Madrid, on the other hand, there’s so much going on, and the first two years were very difficult for us. And mind you, we started strong, because the first year we had Sting and Rod Stewart! But in the third year, we felt that it was full every day, that people already knew what it was all about, that they understood the experience, that the restaurants were packed, that people were making plans to attend. So, for me, this Starlite Madrid has been the ultimate triumph.

We also have many corporate events that take place throughout the entire venue, or events within the event itself. We call it Inside Starlite, where companies host events for 200 or 300 people, and they have their dinners for 50, or a birthday party. Within the venue, they reserve and block off areas, and we organize everything for them. They have everything set up: the restaurant, the party, spaces with screens to hold their private event, and then they join the main concert. That was the goal, and it’s what makes us unique, because it’s winter here, and it’s possible. In Marbella, it’s summer, and it’s difficult for companies to get everyone to go there; it’s way harder to hold large corporate events.

This year, you also hosted the first Billboard No. 1s España. What was the biggest challenge?

The biggest challenge was that we organized it in less than a month. We announced it in October with Leila [Cobo at Billboard Latin Music Week] in Miami, but then we announced the lineup in November. We did it in record time. It was like, “Okay, let’s do it.” I’m very much a “let’s do it on the fly” kind of person, because I think that’s how things have to be. We believed we had to take the plunge — a partnership with what, for us, is the Bible of music. I think it’s very exciting.

What was your greatest satisfaction this edition?

What I’m most proud of from this edition of Starlite Madrid is having achieved a historic concert: Billboard No. 1s, held for the first time in Spanish and, for the first time, outside the U.S. Starlite’s motivation was clear: to get Billboard to focus on Spanish artists and on Spain as the natural gateway for Spanish-language music to Europe and Latin America.

This evening also had a social purpose. Through the Starlite Foundation, together with the Lo Que De Verdad Importa Foundation, we honored the lives and legacies of 12 elderly individuals who dedicated their lives to music. Through the “Your Story Truly Matters” project, volunteers accompany them for a year to document their stories, their lessons learned, and their legacies in a book, giving back a voice, dignity, and recognition to those who made our industry great.

Beyond this initiative, there was another important social moment during the festival.

One of the major achievements has been the staging, through the Starlite Foundation, of a very special concert that brought together more than 600 children from the Ubuntu Choir with a symphony orchestra. This project directly aligns with the Starlite Foundation’s vision, which champions culture as a driving force for social and educational impact, reinforcing its commitment to new generations, inclusion and learning, and highlighting music as a tool for human transformation.

The concert is the visible culmination of a profound educational process involving schools, teachers, families and music professionals, and solidifies Starlite’s position as a cultural institution with a long-term social mission.

It’s wonderful to see how you’ve continued to be involved in social causes through your work over the years. Why is this important to you?

I strongly believe in sustainable solidarity, in supporting agents of change who will continue the work, creating a ripple effect. Helping some, so that they, in turn, help others, and also developing projects that are sustainable and generate resources to ensure their longevity. I also believe it’s important to recognize influential figures who are role models in the world, acknowledging the social work they do, so that people can follow their example and be inspired to do the same. I want people to feel proud of helping and contributing, so that more and more people join in, and we become a growing community of people who help others and whose life purpose is to give back.

We need to understand that money is not an end in itself, but a means to achieve a purpose and reach our goals. For me, the ultimate goal and purpose of Starlite as a business project isn’t so much about what it can generate or the profits it can make, but rather the legacy I leave behind, the number of people I inspire, and the number of people we make happy. All the people you touch with that magic wand, who leave completely transformed, motivated, inspired and excited, ready to take on the world. After spending a day with us, they forget all their problems and gain a new perspective on life.