Drake‘s team is denying internet rumors that he was arrested in Sweden.
Social media posts suggested that Drake and his bodyguards had been taken into custody by police at a Stockholm nightclub Thursday night for marijuana possession. His team told The Hollywood Reporter that the Toronto rapper was in his hotel in the city and was not arrested.
The Champagne Papi arrived at Sweden’s Arlanda airport Wednesday on his private Boeing 767 dubbed “Air Drake.” According to local media reports, Drake visited the trendy Ostermalm district of Stockholm and stopped at Ciccio’s restaurant.
After his reps denied he was arrested, the four-time Grammy winner posted a document Sunday on Instagram, which appeared to confirm he was detained in Sweden.
Titled “Information for Those Suspected of a Crime and Subsequently Detained,” the sheet detailed a detainee’s rights in the country underneath the word “Polisen,” which means “police” in Swedish. It outlined what happens once a person is detained, including being interrogated for “a maximum of six hours” or taken into custody.
As previously reported, on Wednesday, Drake announced that his October World Weekend music festival will take place July 28-29 and August 1 in Toronto with a lineup, including a Young Money reunion featuring Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj as well as appearances from Lil Baby and Chris Brown.
“OCTOBER WORLD WEEKEND I am currently working on bringing OVO FEST around the world in 2023 for the 10th Anniversary but of course we wanted to turn the city up for the summer,” the Canadian rapper wrote alongside an Instagram post of the event. Tickets are now on sale on Ticketmaster.
Lady Gaga may be on her long-awaited world tour, but she admits she once thought she’d never be able to tour again.
The singer made the remarks ahead of her Chromatica Ball tour opening in Germany on Sunday. She took to Twitter to explain just how meaningful the moment was to her.
“There was a time I thought I’d never be on stage again. I was so sad I couldn’t even dream anything but a painful nightmare,” she expressed. “I’ve overcome my nightmare with love, support, trust, truth, bravery, talent and dedication. I am so grateful.”
Gaga later shared her excitement ahead of the opening show, saying on Instagram that she’s nervous to tour again after a multi-year pause. “I feel more clear today than I have in a long time and more pain-free than I have in ages,” she explained. “Being free of pain, on stage, is a real healing experience because I am able to dance and sing and enjoy the audience and enjoy the show.”
Lady Gaga has openly struggled with her mental health, telling fans of her battles with depression, anxiety and PTSD. The Grammy winner was also diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a painful disorder that causes muscle pain and affects one’s sleep and mood, according to the Mayo Clinic.
“To anyone that doesn’t believe in fibromyalgia: I dare you to spend five minutes in my body on a day when I’m in pain, and then try and say it again,” she told Varietyin 2018 of her diagnosis.
The “Rain on Me” singer’s twice pandemic-delayed Chromatica Ball tour is on its European leg and will be coming to North America on August 6. The multi-date trek wraps September 17 in Miami, Florida.
(NEW ORLEANS) — The legal battle over Louisiana’s statewide abortion ban rages on with a court hearing slated for Monday.
Since the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24, declaring there’s no federal constitutional right to end a pregnancy, Louisiana’s abortion “trigger laws” arguably went into automatic effect, meaning the procedure immediately became illegal in the state. However, a lawsuit led by the Center for Reproductive Rights and the Boies Schiller law firm on behalf of Hope Medical Group for Women — a Louisiana abortion provider — has challenged the state’s three abortion trigger laws.
A New Orleans judge issued a temporary order blocking enforcement of the state ban on June 27. Less than two weeks later, on July 8, another New Orleans judge decided not to extend the temporary order allowing for abortions and transferred the case to Baton Rouge, saying it had been filed in the wrong jurisdiction and that state law required it to be heard in the capital.
However, three days later, Judge Donald Johnson of Louisiana’s 19th Judicial District Court in East Baton Rouge Parish issued a temporary order blocking the trigger laws pending a preliminary injunction hearing, which was scheduled to begin Monday morning. Louisiana’s three abortion clinics — in Shreveport, Baton Rouge and New Orleans — were allowed to resume operations until the court decides on whether to issue a preliminary injunction.
Following the historic ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, Louisiana was one of just three states to have immediate trigger laws restricting abortions, including a ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. These laws include “trigger language” designed to make them effective when federal abortion rights were reversed.
The first of Louisiana’s trigger laws was passed in 2006, stating that abortion under all circumstances except due to certain medical circumstances would become criminal offenses. However, there were no clear guidelines on how the ban would be enforced or exactly when it would become effective.
In June, in anticipation of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, a second trigger law was signed, adding a statement directly relating to the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
A third trigger law was enacted just days later, stating that it will ban abortion after 15 weeks of gestation, as opposed to the first and second bans on abortion at any point. The three bans also all differ on their penalty provisions. There are no exceptions for victims of rape and incest.
In the lawsuit, plaintiffs don’t deny that Louisiana can now outlaw abortion, but they claim that the state ban is unconstitutionally vague due to multiple, conflicting trigger mechanisms. They also contend that state law is unclear on whether it bans an abortion prior to a fertilized egg implanting in the uterus. Attorneys for the plaintiffs want the judge to keep blocking enforcement as their suit is litigated.
Meanwhile, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry’s office will argue that the state ban is constitutional and should no longer be blocked. Last month, Landry lauded the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade and warned that anyone wanting to fight abortion laws in his state is “in for a rough fight.”
ABC News’ Ely Brown, Kyla Guilfoil, Mary Kekatos and Briana Stewart contributed to this report.
Wolfgang Van Halen has commented on the rumored Van Halen tour that would pay tribute to his late father, the iconic Eddie Van Halen.
Reports of the tour first surfaced when former Metallica bassist Jason Newstedrevealed that he was approached by VH drummer Alex Van Halen and guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani for a jam session that ultimately “fizzled.” Satriani then confirmed that he’d been speaking with Alex and VH vocalist David Lee Roth about a potential tribute while admitting the whole thing was “complicated.”
Now, in an interview with Rolling Stone, Wolf reaffirmed that there were talks of a tribute to Eddie, sharing, “There was an attempt at doing something.” He added, “It was not a tour” but rather a single tribute concert.
“I don’t like to speak negatively about people, but there are some people that make it very difficult to do anything when it comes to Van Halen,” Wolf said. “We made an attempt, and some people can be hard to work with, and made it not happen.”
When asked to clarify his involvement in the project, Wolf explained, “When it comes to Van Halen, and decision-making overall and what Van Halen does, it’s Al, and then I’m there and supportive.”
As for whether he gave his “blessing,” he said, “It didn’t even get to that point.”
“It was in such an early stage that it never even got off the ground,” Wolf added, explaining that by the time Newsted had made his comments, “It was already not happening.”
The interviewer then asked if a certain “singer with three initials” is to blame, and Wolf replied, “I would say, ‘Do your research on the history of Van Halen, and come to your conclusions.'”
Billie Eilish is letting fans know that if they aren’t happy with the current state of political affairs and want things to change, they have to vote. That’s why she’s partnered with HeadCount.
HeadCount is a non-profit organization that works toward registering all eligible voters. Billie says in a statement of her new partnership, “I’m working with HeadCount to encourage everyone to show up at the polls and use their voice during these midterm elections.”
“With what is going on in our country we need to get out to the polls and vote for what we believe in,” she continued. “Not showing up is not an option.”
Fans who are eligible to vote have two new ways to check their registration status or sign up to vote: By visiting HeadCount.org/Billie or texting “BILLIE” to 57568. Doing so opens fans up to a cool contest, where a grand prize winner will score a VIP trip to see Billie in Australia and New Zealand in September.
The winner and a friend won’t have to lift a finger to get ready as airfare, hotel accommodations and tickets will be included in the grand prize package. They will also be hooked up with a signed merchandise package.
According to HeadCount, nearly half of all individuals aged between 18 and 24 years old are still not registered to vote. That accounts for eight million votes.
“Gen Z represents a significant demographic that could greatly affect laws and policies across the country,” HeadCount explains. The organization hopes that by teaming with the “bad guy” singer, more people will be inspired to let their voices be heard during November’s midterm elections.
Luke Bryan‘s birthday was filled with family, fun and fishing!
On Sunday, the country superstar celebrated his 46th birthday surrounded by family, including his wife, Caroline, their two sons, Bo and Tate,and nephew Til. Caroline posted a photo featuring a custom cake that boasts a giant can of his Two Lane Beer made of frosting and the phrase “Happy Birthday Luke!” written in gold lettering. Luke was clearly pleased with the surprise as he excitedly points down at the cake, while his wife plants a kiss on his cheek.
Caroline also shared a video of the family goofily dancing around the house, while she pretends to spank her husband and 14-year-old son Bo jumps on his back.
“Birthday fishing trip, let’s go!” Luke says, rounding everybody up to leave the house.
“Happy Birthday to my Hunk of burning love!!! We love you! And….I’m going fishing again because well…it’s your birthday!” his wife captions the entertaining video.
Caroline also revealed on Instagram Stories that she had a series of humorous cookies made displaying photos of Luke, including one of him dressed as an old lady on Halloween.
On his own Stories, the “Country On” singer shared a video of him blowing out a candle on a tiny cupcake backstage ahead of a show. “I wish to catch a lot of fish,” he says with a smile before raising a toast with his band as they all chant “cake budget.”
The Weeknd went out of his way to console a disappointed six-year-old fan who was unable to see him in concert in Toronto.
The Grammy winner’s tour is finally up and running after a rocky false start in the Canadian city, which was hit by a massive network outage. The Weeknd was forced to cancel the July 8 show at Rogers Centre and that devastated Phoenix Prince, who had dressed up like the “Save Your Tears” hitmaker to see him in concert.
A photo of him crying outside the venue went viral and The Weeknd retweeted it, asking his fans to “please find him for me.” His supporters went to work, and soon enough, Phoenix and his dad boarded a flight to Philadelphia to see him in concert at Lincoln Financial Field.
Phoenix’s dad shared photos of his son embracing the “Blinding Lights” singer backstage, being given the grand tour of the venue and having his little red tux signed by the hitmaker.
“I wouldn’t be able to put this last week into words if I tried. We are forever grateful for this moment. We are beyond thankful to Abel and his beautiful crew for their friendship, hospitality, generosity and for spending day with Phoenix and I,” he wrote on Instagram. “He will cherish this experience forever. Thank you a million times over.”
In other Weeknd news, the official teaser trailer for his HBO Max show The Idolis finally here! Teased as “the sleaziest love story,” the show stars Lily-Rose Depp as an aspiring pop star who falls in love with The Weeknd’s character, a cult leader.
The spicy teaser promises plenty of drama and HBO-worthy scenes. Although the show is “coming soon,” the official release date is forthcoming.
Some Marvel movie fan shelled out $200K just to own Captain America’s mighty shield — and it’s not even vibranium in real life.
The hero prop wielded by Chris Evans in 2012’s The Avengers was just one of the items sold when the hammer fell at Julien’s Auctions and TCM’s “Hollywood Legends” auction over the weekend.
Other items that fetched a pretty penny were a Stormtrooper helmet worn on screen in 1977’s Star Wars: A New Hope, which sold for $192,000, and a cape worn by Christopher Reeve in Superman III, which was sold for $51,200.
But the biggest seller of the event was Marilyn Monroe‘s gown and headpiece from 1954’s There’s No Business Like Show Business; the ensemble scored $218,750.
Other items snatched up from the auction included Audrey Hepburn‘s tweed Givenchy outfit from 1961’s Breakfast at Tiffany‘s, which went for $156,250; Chris Hemsworth‘s Mjolnir hammer from 2013’s Thor: The Dark World seemed a bargain in comparison, selling for $51,200.
Limp Bizkit is postponing the band’s scheduled summer tour of the U.K. and Europe due to “personal health concerns” affecting frontman Fred Durst.
In a video posted to the “Break Stuff” outfit’s website, Durst explains that he underwent some medical tests ahead of the tour to confirm that he’s in “good physical condition and and everything’s OK.”
“To my surprise, my doctor has decided to send me a letter telling me he would not like me to tour at this time, and to stay close by to do some more tests,” Durst shares. “This was very unexpected news, and I’m so sorry, and I look forward to making it up to [the U.K. and European fans] as soon as possible.”
“I’m only wishing for the best, and I know everything’s gonna be OK,” he continues. “Thank you so much for your support, as we do love and cherish our connection with you more than anything on this planet.”
Limp Bizkit was set to tour in support of the group’s new album Still Sucks, which dropped last October.
Axl Rose has dedicated Guns N’ Roses‘ recently concluded European tour to late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.
Over the weekend, in a tweet following the tour’s closing show in Germany, Rose wrote, “It’s just a simple gesture n’ it’s awkward dealing with the gravity of something like this but in an effort to pay [our] respects we’d like to dedicated this tour to our friend Taylor Hawkins.”
“Taylor was a really great guy and it was always great to see him!” the “Welcome to the Jungle” singer continued. “He was a great n’ always welcome part of touring these last few years! This is such a horrible thing and [our] hearts go out to his family, friends, band manes and everyone who love him.”
Hawkins passed away unexpectedly on March 25 in Bogotá, Colombia ahead of a Foo Fighters show scheduled there for later that night. He was 50 years old.
Foo Fighters will be holding a pair of tribute shows to Hawkins taking place September 3 in London and September 27 in Los Angeles.
Also in his note, Rose thanked Carrie Underwood, who joined GN’R for two shows in London to sing “Paradise City” and “Sweet Child o’ Mine.”
“She’s AMAZING!!” Rose wrote of the country star. He added that Underwood was also a “real lifesaver,” alluding to the vocal issues he was battling during the second London show, which forced GN’R to postpone their next show in Scotland.
