Excuse moi?Lizzo unveiled her epic Halloween costume as Miss Piggy via social media on Monday (Oct. 31).
“HAPPY HALLOWEEN from this W. A. P.iggy,” she captioned the first of several posts on Instagram, referencing Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion‘s No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hit from 2020. In the accompanying video, the singer added her own ad libs over the track in her imitation of The Muppets icon’s unforgettable voice.
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For the second photo, Lizzo re-created one of Miss Piggy’s rather scandalous editorial spreads — which was itself a re-creation of a famous photo shoot styled by Polly Mellon for Vogue featuring a nude model and a boa constrictor. “A tribute to my forever icon, MISS PIGGY,” she wrote. “The epitome of grace, style, confidence and a warrior for love. @realmisspiggy i love you.”
The Grammy winner’s skin-baring homage to Miss Piggy isn’t even her only costume this year; in fact, she’s been getting into the Halloween spirit all weekend long. Two days earlier, she painted herself yellow for a Marge Simpson getup that was perfectly on point, from the giant blue bouffant to the neon nails.
While she’s gearing up for the premiere of her HBO documentary Love, Lizzo on Nov. 24, the “About Damn Time” songstress is currently in the middle of The Special Tour with opener Latto. “Tonight is a very special night ’cause we are home, bitch!” she declared on the trek’s hometown show in her native Detroit earlier this month. “The feeling that I have is indescribable…It’s emotional being in the place where you were born. It’s emotional being back where your roots began.”
A look at Pepsi’s history shows the brand has always known the importance of merging with the music industry (see: its most recent collaborations with Doja Cat and Chloe, in addition to its past sponsorship of the Super Bowl Halftime Show). Now, the brand is stepping into artist development with its newest creation, the Pepsi Music Lab.
In partnership with distribution company UnitedMasters, the Pepsi Music Lab — which took place in New York City on Oct. 25 to Oct. 27 — offered 12 rising artists mentorship and coaching from music industry professionals, brand building workshops, performance camps and more to help hone their craft and allow them to continue on the path to rising stardom.
“Pepsi is a brand that has a proven global track record for minting music superstars and shaping some of the most iconic moments in music and pop culture. Now, we are excited to shine a spotlight on the next generation of artists with our new Pepsi Music Lab platform,” says Todd Kaplan, chief marketing officer at Pepsi. “By removing barriers within the music industry, we can provide these talented artists with the resources, knowledge, exposure, and connections to help accelerate their growth as musicians and further enable their success – it will truly make a positive impact on the futures of the artists we believe will push the industry forward.”
The Artists Pepsi Music Lab’s class of ’22-’23 features 12 independent musicians across genres handpicked by UnitedMasters. The list includes:
AKINYEMI, Rap – New York, N.Y.
Amira Unplugged,Multi-genre – Stone Mountain, Ga.
Brian V., Pop – New York, N.Y.
Cain Lofton, Multi-genre – Chicago, Ill.
GODBY, Rap – Washington, D.C.
Kbthesinger, Hip-Hop – St. Louis, Miss.
Lexie Hayden, Country – Nashville, Tenn.
Lynnea M, Pop – Los Angeles, Calif.
NOHEMY, Latin Pop-Urban – Bayamon, Puerto Rico
Oompa, Hip-Hop – Boston, Mass.
SERGIO, Pop/Latino – Redwood City, Calif.
Tarik, Hip-Hop – Scottsdale, Ariz.
The Mentorsand Workshops
The artists arrived to Pepsi Music Lab’s location at 10 Jay Street on Oct. 25 for an opening ceremony and gathering at the location. On Oct. 26, the industry hopefuls were treated to a series of workshops, first from independent rapper LaRussell, who advised the singer-songwriters on how to build their personal brand-building through social media and marketing tools.
In the afternoon, the artists had the opportunity to speak with Director X — known for his work on videos for Jay-Z, Rihanna, Drake, Fifth Harmony, One Direction and more — who mentored the rising stars on how they could make visual content that has a lasting impact in their careers going forward.
Sandwiched in between a press training workshop, Roc Nation senior vice president Lenny S spoke to the selected artists about the importance of developing and maintaining their connections, while choreographer Laurieann Gibson gave performance coaching and choreography lessons to help improve their stage presence.
AKINYEMI receiving performance tips from Laurieann Gibson on day two of Pepsi Music Lab.
The third day of the training camp (Oct. 27) saw the artists taking headshots with Lenny S, setting up sizzle reels with Director X and recording sample radio spots with Dwayne Crawford, engineer and editor of Power 105.1’s The Breakfast Club.
The Feedback
“I’ve been in Nashville for seven years creating country music so being part of this program exposes me to artists from all genres of music and it’s allowed me to be able to create and collaborate with others, in the future,” Hayden told Billboard of the experience. “One of the biggest takeaways I got was from LaRussell… he said, ‘Don’t set goals, work hard — and they’ll come to you and it will happen if you work hard.’”
“I’ve been following LaRussell for a while, and his drive and the way he approaches his social content and holds himself in interviews is really inspiring. It constantly gives me the motivation and redefined my purpose and an artist,” Queens native AKINYEMI added of the the rapper’s Oct. 26 workshop.
Nohemy focused on the choreography workshop in the three day lab, and shared that Gibson’s class was the most helpful to her: “Performing is a very big thing for me, so getting tips from Laurieann is going to make a huge difference in my stage presence and will help me be more in time with my moves and more in control of my energy. For people that know me, I’m very energetic on stage, so being able to know when and how to channel that energy throughout an hour show I think is really important.”
Nohemy taking headshots on day three of Pepsi Music Lab with Lenny S.
And while getting to sit in on all of the workshops was a great experience for Lynnea M., the connections she was able to cement was her biggest takeaway, saying, “Meeting other artists is going to help us because we have those extra connections — not just with the artists, but with the people in the industry that we met as well.”
At the end of the three-day program, all artists who participated received individual plaques commemorating the time they spent in Pepsi Music Lab’s class of 2022-2023.
“Pepsi has a long history of helping great artists break through, reshaping pop culture and leaving an unforgettable impression on all of us,” says Steve Stoute, ceo and founder of UnitedMasters. “Now in partnership with UnitedMasters, Pepsi is empowering the next generation of creators, helping them hone their craft and develop their talent so that they can generate the next big moment. Connecting independent artists to a brand with this rich legacy is the formula for creating a new future of music.”
Cardi B was Simpsons chic this Halloween when she stepped out dressed as the fictional family’s matriarch, Marge Simpson.
In a series of photos posted to Instagram on Monday (Oct. 31), the rapper is seen as a sexier version of the animated character, painted yellow with sky high blue hair, rocking a skin-tight green body suit and red stilettos. See the post here.
In a follow-up photo carousel, Cardi shared her “Mugler inspired” version of Marge, in which she’s seen in the same yellow paint and blue hair, this time wearing a Mugler gown with a cutout on the butt.
However, Cardi B wasn’t the only star who took on the role of Marge Simpson this spooky season. Over the weekend, Lizzo covered her whole body in yellow makeup and slipped on Marge’s signature towering blue hair for an equally perfect look. “I AM HIM — HIMMY NEUTRON — MARGE HIMPSON,” the “Better in Color” singer captioned a series of pics in which she posed as Marge, complete with red heels and a matching strand of pearls accenting a shimmery green dress as she perfected a meme in which Simpson covered her face with her hands.
Countless celebrities showed off their best costumes during the creepiest, crawliest time of the year over the weekend, and we’ve rounded up the best Halloween costumes of 2022. Check out our list here.
October has wrapped up, and the Billboard Latin team has compiled a list of collaborative tracks released throughout the month that were either included on the weekly First Stream Latin roundup or featured by Billboard.
This month’s fan poll includes Shakira’s first single following her breakup with Gerard Piqué “Monotonia,” in collaboration with Ozuna; Jhayco, Feid and Sech’s club banger “En La De Ella”; Manuel Turizo’s “Extasis” with Maria Becerra; Natanael Cano and Victor Cibrian’s “Que Me Importa”; and “Dejame Vivir,” by the late Juan Gabriel and former RBD star, Anahí, to name a few.
Last month, Kany Garcia and Christian Nodal won the fan poll with “La Siguente” receiving more than 39 percent of the votes. They were followed by Chris Jedi, Young Miko and Lunay’s “Condado” with over 18 percent of the votes.
In August, Cuban newcomer R3ymon and Puerto Rican rapper Anonimus won the coveted fan poll with their track “Santa Diabla” receiving more than 34 percent of the votes. Sebastian Yatra and Pablo Alboran’s “Contigo” was picked best Latin collaboration of July, with more than 50 percent of the votes, followed by CNCO and Kenia OS’ “Plutón,” with more than 37 percent of the votes.
In the summer, Billboard unveiled the “Best Latin Collaborations of 2022 (So Far),” including Christina Aguilera & Ozuna’s “Santo” (January), Becky G & Karol G’s “Mamiii” (February), Sebastian Yatra & John Legend’s “Tacones Rojos (Remix)” (March), Bizarrap & Paulo Londra’s “BZRP Music Sessions #23” (April), Morat & Duki’s “Paris” (May), and Blessd & Rels B’s “Energia” (June).
Who should win the best Latin collaboration of October? Vote below!
Taylor Swift scores one of the most historic weeks in the 64-year history of the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, as she becomes the first artist to claim the survey’s entire top 10 in a single frame.
Swift surpasses Drake, who logged nine of the Hot 100’s top 10 for a week in September 2021.
Leading the way for Swift on the Hot 100, “Anti-Hero” launches at No. 1, marking her ninth career leader.
All 10 songs in the Hot 100’s top tier are from Swift’s new LP Midnights, which, released Oct. 21 on Republic Records, blasts in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart with the biggest week for any release in seven years.
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Swift also surges past Drake and The Beatles for the most titles from the top of the Hot 100 in a single week, as her monopoly of the top 10 bests those acts, each of whom infused the top five for a week each in 2021 and 1964, respectively.
Meanwhile, as Swift adds 10 new Hot 100 top 10s, she now boasts the most top 10s among women in the chart’s history, with 40 (surpassing Madonna’s 38). Among all acts, she trails only Drake (59 top 10s).
Plus, Midnights becomes the first album ever with as many as 10 Hot 100 top 10s, besting the nine from Drake’s Certified Lover Boy in 2021.
The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data. All charts (dated Nov. 5, 2022) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (Nov. 1). For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Here’s a rundown of Swift’s unprecedented week on the Hot 100.
Top 10: Streams, Airplay & Sales
As Swift swoops in with a clean sweep of the Hot 100’s top 10, here’s a look at the songs’ official streams, radio airplay and sales in the U.S. in the Oct. 21-27 tracking week that drove their chart debuts:
Rank, Title: Streams / Airplay Audience / Sales: No. 1, “Anti-Hero”: 59.7 million streams / 32 million in airplay audience / 13,500 sold No. 2, “Lavender Haze”: 41.4 million / 2.4 million / 2,800 No. 3, “Maroon”: 37.6 million / 471,000 / 2,900 No. 4, “Snow on the Beach,“ feat. Lana Del Rey: 37.2 million / 615,000 / 2,600 No. 5, “Midnight Rain”: 36.9 million / 449,000 / 2,200 No. 6, “Bejeweled”: 35.5 million / 1.6 million / 16,100 No. 7, “Question…?”: 31 million / 425,000 / 21,400 No. 8, “You’re on Your Own, Kid”: 34.1 million / 498,000 / 1,500 No. 9, “Karma”: 33 million / 1.9 million / 3,400 No. 10, “Vigilante Shit”: 32.2 million / 424,000 / 6,400
With her total takeover of the Hot 100’s top 10 (with assistance from Lana Del Rey at No. 4), Swift passes Drake, who claimed nine of the top 10 (all except for No. 6) on the chart dated Sept. 18, 2021, when nine songs, all from his album Certified Lover Boy, bounded into the region, led by “Way 2 Sexy,” featuring Future and Young Thug, at No .1, as the set opened atop the Billboard 200.
Meanwhile, Swift passes Drake and The Beatles for the most titles from the top of the Hot 100 in a single week. Before Drake’s top five tally on Sept. 18, 2021, The Beatles held Nos. 1-5 on the chart dated April 4, 1964.
Swift’s Nine Hot 100 No. 1s
Here’s a recap of Swift’s nine Hot 100 No. 1s, notched over a span of just over 10 years:
“We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” three weeks at No. 1, beginning Sept. 1, 2012 “Shake It Off,” four weeks, beginning Sept. 6, 2014 “Blank Space,” seven weeks, beginning Nov. 29, 2014 “Bad Blood,” feat. Kendrick Lamar, one week, June 6, 2015 “Look What You Made Me Do,” three weeks, beginning Sept. 16, 2017 “Cardigan,” one week, Aug. 8, 2020 “Willow,” one week, Dec. 26, 2020 “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version),” one week, Nov. 27, 2021 “Anti-Hero,” one week to-date, Nov. 5, 2022
Swift becomes one of 16 acts with nine or more Hot 100 No. 1s, and one of seven solo women, joining Mariah Carey (19), Rihanna (14), Madonna (12), Whitney Houston (11), Janet Jackson (10) and Katy Perry (nine). The Beatles lead all acts with 20 Hot 100 No. 1s.
Swift’s Fifth No. 1 Hot 100 Debut
Swift debuts atop the Hot 100 with a fifth title, as “Anti-Hero” (the 64th single to enter at No. 1) follows the chart-topping premieres of “Shake It Off,” “Cardigan,” “Willow” and “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version).” With her latest, she ties Ariana Grande for the most No. 1 entrances among women.
Overall, Drake leads with seven No. 1 Hot 100 debuts, followed by BTS, Grande, Swift (five each) and Justin Bieber (four).
Record-Extending Simultaneous Billboard 200 & Hot 100 debuts
Thanks to Midnights and “Anti-Hero,” Swift is the first artist to have debuted atop the Billboard 200 and Hot 100 simultaneously as many as four times. (The Billboard 200 began on March 24, 1956, and the Hot 100, on Aug. 4, 1958.)
Swift became the first act to launch with such a double when Folklore and “Cardigan” began atop the Billboard 200 and Hot 100, respectively, on Aug. 8, 2020. She repeated the feat with Evermore and “Willow” (Dec. 26, 2020) and Red (Taylor’s Version) and “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)” (Nov. 27, 2021).
Drake, with two, is the only other act with multiple such simultaneous starts on the surveys.
Top 10 Streamed, Sold Songs Are by Swift
As on the Hot 100, Swift holds the entire top 10 on Streaming Songs and Digital Song Sales charts. Swift is the first artist to triple up with the top 10 on all three charts simultaneously; no other act had previously claimed Nos. 1-10 in a single week on the Hot 100 or Digital Song Sales, while only Drake had swept the tier on Streaming Songs (Sept. 18, 2021).
“Anti-Hero” debuts at No. 1 on Streaming Songs with the biggest streaming week for a song (59.7 million) in 2022, passing Jack Harlow’s “First Class” (54.6 million; April 23). No song has logged more weekly streams since Drake’s “Way 2 Sexy” soared in with 67.3 million (Sept. 18, 2021).
Swift adds her sixth Streaming Songs No. 1, tying Bieber for the second-most, after Drake’s 14.
On Digital Song Sales, Swift’s “Question…?” debuts at No. 1, marking her record-extending 24th leader. (Rihanna ranks second with 14.) Helping its coronation, “Question…?” was made available for sale in Swift’s webstore on the last day of the chart’s tracking week (Oct. 27) in its original and instrumental form, each for 69 cents, as was “Bejeweled,” new at No. 4 on Digital Song Sales.
Notably, the streams for Swift’s songs in the Hot 100’s top 10 were strong enough that all 10 tracks would’ve ranked in the region even without any chart points from sales or radio airplay.
‘Anti-Hero’ Roars at Radio
Speaking of radio reach, “Anti-Hero,” the first promoted single from Midnights, debuts at No. 13 on Radio Songs, the highest debut this year and Swift’s best opening rank among 45 career entries.
The song concurrently places at No. 11 on the Adult Pop Airplay chart, No. 13 on Adult Contemporary and No. 16 on Pop Airplay following its first full week of availability.
Swift Up to 40 Hot 100 Top 10s, the Most Among Women
By instantly adding 10 Hot 100 top 10s, Swift now sports the second-most, 40, in the chart’s history. Previously tied with Michael Jackson, Swift leapfrogs Madonna – as she now claims the most top 10s among women – The Beatles and Rihanna.
Swift first hit the Hot 100’s top 10 with “Love Story” on the chart dated Oct. 4, 2008.
Most Billboard Hot 100 Top 10s: 59, Drake 40, Taylor Swift 38, Madonna 34, The Beatles 31, Rihanna 30, Michael Jackson 29, Elton John 28, Mariah Carey 28, Stevie Wonder 27, Janet Jackson 26, Justin Bieber 25, Lil Wayne 25, Elvis Presley (with the start of Presley’s career having predated the Hot 100’s inception)
Similar to Swift’s timeline, Drake earned the first of his record 59 top 10s in July 2009 and most recently ranked in the bracket this August.
Midnights Clocks Most Hot 100 Top 10s From an Album
Upon its chart start, Swift’s Midnights becomes the first album to generate as many as 10 Hot 100 top 10s. It passes Drake’s Certified Lover Boy, which landed nine, likewise all in the same week (Sept. 18, 2021) that the set started atop the Billboard 200.
Swift previously ran up a personal-best five Hot 100 top 10s from an album, via 1989 in 2014-15.
Janet Jackson leads with three albums that have each yielded at least five Hot 100 top 10s, while Drake and now Swift are the only acts with at least two such sets. (Jackson plays into the success of Midnights: “Snow on the Beach” includes the lyric: “I’m all for you like Janet.”)
Swift’s No. 1s as a Writer, Producer
Swift co-wrote and co-produced “Anti-Hero” with Jack Antonoff.
Swift has co-written all nine of her Hot 100 No. 1s. She has co-produced three of her leaders, as “Anti-Hero” follows “Look What You Made Me Do” and “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version).”
Antonoff achieves his third Hot 100 No. 1 as a co-writer, after “Look What You Made Me Do” and “We Are Young,” featuring Janelle Monae; the latter led for six weeks in 2012 for fun. (comprising, Antonoff, Andrew Dost and Nate Ruess). Antonoff also adds his third No. 1 as a producer, all tallied with Swift, after “Look What You Made Me Do” and “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version).”
Autumn Happiness: Del Rey’s Best Rank
As “Snow on the Beach” debuts at No. 4 on the Hot 100, Lana Del Rey, featured on the song (which she co-wrote with Swift and Antonoff), lands her highest Hot 100 placement. She scored one prior top 10: “Summertime Sadness,” with Cedric Gervais, hit No. 6 in September 2013.
‘Hero’-ic Hits
“Anti-Hero” is the third Hot 100 No. 1 with “hero” in its title, and the first since Mariah Carey’s “Hero” in 1993-94.
Here’s a look at the highest-charting such Hot 100 hits: No. 1 (one week to-date), “Anti-Hero,” Taylor Swift, 2022 No. 1 (four), “Hero,” Mariah Carey, 1993-94 No. 1 (two), “Billy, Don’t Be a Hero,” Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods, 1974 No. 2, “We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome),” Tina Turner, 1985 No. 2, “Theme From ‘Greatest American Hero’ (Believe It or Not),” Joey Scarbury, 1981 No. 3, “Hero,” Chad Kroeger feat. Josey Scott, 2002 No. 3, “Hero,” Enrique Iglesias, 2001
As Swift dominates the Hot 100’s top 10, Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ “Unholy” falls to No. 11, a week after it ascended to the summit. It was the most-streamed (24.3 million, down 4%) and top-selling song (11,300, down 40%) not by Swift in the tracking week, while boasting a 23% gain to 26.7 million in radio audience.
Steve Lacy’s fellow former Hot 100 leader “Bad Habits” drops from No. 2 to No. 12, followed by three more Swift songs – as the entirety of Midnights‘ 13-song standard edition debuts in the top 15. “Mastermind” begins at No. 13, “Labyrinth” enters at No. 14 and “Sweet Nothing” starts at No. 15.
Again, for all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram and all charts (dated Nov. 5), including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh on Billboard.com tomorrow (Nov. 1).
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.
Back before she was a world-renowned pop star, actress, mental health advocate and documentary-maker, Selena Gomez was teen witch Alex Russo, star of Disney Channel’s Wizards of Waverly Place. Ten years have passed since the show wrapped, but in a recent Instagram photo, she revealed that she went back to her roots by revisiting the real-life place where her former character used to live: Waverly Place in New York City.
Gomez revealed that she’d taken the sacred pilgrimage to the Greenwich Village street where Wizards took place in a nostalgic Saturday (Oct. 29) post. In her photo, she’s standing in front of Julius’ — a famed gay bar stationed at the corner of Waverly and 10th Street — gazing up at a tall street sign reading “WAVERLY PL.”
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“Where it all began,” she captioned the post.
As expected, fans who grew up watching Wizards could barely handle all the feels attached to the “Lose You to Love Me” singer’s sentimental tribute. “DONT DO THIS TO ME,” commented one, while another wrote, “CRYING U CANT DO THIS.”
Gomez starred on the sitcom from 2007 to 2012, during which she and castmates David Henrie, Jake T. Austin, Jennifer Stone, Maria Canals-Barrera and David DeLuise filmed four seasons and a feature-length movie. In 2013, they reunited for a one-off TV special called The Wizards Return: Alex vs. Alex.
Since then, the Grammy nominee has starred in and produced a number of screen projects, including Only Murders in the Building — the second season of which debuted on Hulu in June. Gomez is now gearing up to release a documentary on her mental health struggles titled Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me on Apple TV + Nov. 4. She also recently announced that she’d be dropping a single of the same name one day prior to the film’s premiere.
See Selena Gomez pay tribute to Wizards of Waverly Place in her new Instagram post below:
Harry Styles wants YOU to vote! On Monday (Oct. 31), HeadCount reported that the pop star had helped register more than 54,000 new voters in its “Good to Vote” initiative ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.
With that number, the “As It Was” crooner has been instrumental in breaking the record for HeadCount’s most successful campaign driven by a musical artist in the organization’s 18-year history. Thanks to Styles’ sweepstakes — which offered fans who registered to vote a chance to win travel and tickets to his annual “Harryween” show in L.A. on Halloween — HeadCount also experienced an all-time high in single day voter registration with 28,760 getting signed up to vote in the contest’s first 24 hours.
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According to the nonprofit organization, Styles’ partnership ahead of the upcoming midterms now accounts for one third of the total number of the 190,000 voters they’ve registered throughout 2022. Per a release, HeadCount called the spike in voter registration an “unprecedented number for a midterm season.”
News of Harry’s record-breaking efforts to get out the vote comes just days after he dropped the appropriately fishy music video for his latest Harry’s House single, “Music For a Sushi Restaurant.” In the inventive clip, the British heartthrob plays a washed-up sea creature — complete with a bushy beard and a bottom half made of tentacles — who rockets to fame after transforming himself into a successful lounge singer.
Styles is currently in the middle of his 15-show run at L.A.’s Kia Forum, and also racked up six nominations last week for the upcoming 2022 People’s Choice Awards, which was just one behind Big Bunny’s pack-leading seven nods.
Learn more about Styles’ voter registration campaign with HeadCount on the organization’s website.
We will have pleasant conditions for trick-or-treating across the Ozarks this Halloween.
The National Weather Service says we will have sunshine for the Halloween 3-6pm range with temps in the low to mid 60’s. In the later hours of 6-9 pm, those temps drop into the 50s.
M.I.A. didn’t dress up over the weekend, but on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 30) the “Paper Planes” rapper posted what she said was a “scary picture for Halloween” in which she casually posed with controversial conservative commentator Candace Owens.
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“#FreeSpeech,” M.I.A. captioned the post — which Owens re-posted — in which she stands with a neutral look next to a smiling Owens. The outspoken conservative talker’s name was in headlines earlier this month when she appeared at Kanye West’s Paris Fashion Week show modeling one of Ye’s provocative “White Lives Matter” t-shirts.
The stunt was met with widespread backlash from the supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement, especially given phrase’s ties to white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups in their response to BLM. After getting temporarily booted from Twitter and Instagram for posting antisemitic messages, Ye has reportedly been in talks to buy the right-wing friendly social network Parler, which is owned by Owens’ husband, George Farmer.
Known for her strong, sometimes in-your-face political and social statements, M.I.A.’s snap with Owens seemed to divide her fanbase, with a number of comments under the picture saying it was a step too far. “Taking your music out of my playlist,” wrote one, with another joking, “There’s a vampire beside you, that *is* scary.” When a commenter joked, “Ah yes. The scariest thing… a Republican?,” someone responded, “No…a Republican who mocks slavery, George Floyd’s death, and other important matters. Candace owens knows what she is doing and she doesn’t care bc it keeps her relevant on some ridiculous level.”
Other comments included, “Not scary. Just disappointing” and “It’s kinda ironic that the one who made the ‘Born Free’ music video is now posing with someone who wore a White Lives Matter shirt,” while one featured DJ Khaled intoning his classic tagline, “Congratulations you played yourself.”
Earlier this month M.I.A. (born Mathangi Arulpragasam) raised some eyebrows when she doubled-down on her anti-vaccine stance while weighing in on the $965 million verdict against conspiracy theorist and Infowars host Alex Jones. “If Alex Jones pays for lying shouldn’t every celebrity pushing vaccines pay too?” she tweeted in reference to the massive sanction Jones was hit with for falsely and repeatedly claiming the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting massacre was staged by actors as part of a conspiracy to take away American’s guns.
Owens is an expert at stoking the outrage machine, recently posting a teaser for a documentary she created (The Greatest Lie Ever Sold) and boasting in the caption “I broke Black Lives Matter.” Over the weekend she also appeared to question the veracity of reports that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, was brutally attacked at the couple’s California home by a man who authorities say amplified antisemitic and white supremacist ideas online.
“I am hearing A LOT of stuff about this Pelosi story… Nothing confirmed yet but this could get interesting for sure,” Owens wrote a day after police had identified the attacker, who stormed the home shouting “Where is Nancy?” — a phrase also used by some of the Jan. 6 insurrectionist as they searched for the democratic leader while storming the Capitol. The alleged assailant was expected to be charged on Monday (Oct. 31) with felonies that include attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and elder abuse.
Owens’ apparent questioning of the facts in the Pelosi attack was similar in tone to a message posted, then deleted, by new Twitter owner Elon Musk. The “free-speech absolutist” SpaceX/Tesla boss posted an unfounded anti-LGBTQ conspiracy theory on Sunday morning based on a report from a site NBC News said has a history of posting false information. “There is a tiny possibility there might be more to this story than meets the eye,” Musk wrote alongside a link to the site in response to a tweet from former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton about the suspect’s far-right conspiracy theories and what she said was the Republican party’s penchant for “spread[ing] hate and deranged conspiracy theories.”
At press time M.I.A. — who has been teasing her upcoming MATA album — did not give any additional context for her snap with Owens.
