Cardi B
Flo NgalaCardi B recently addressed why she stopped being so vocal about politics on social media.
On Thursday, a Twitter user directly questioned Cardi about why the rapper, who has been a common target of many conservative Republication politicians and commentators and was never shy about taking shots back, stopped using her platform to talk politics. "@iamcardib Used to TALK ABOUT POLITICS & POLITICAL MATTERS! WHAT HAPPENED WITH THAT ?!??"
"I was tired of getting bullied by the republicans and also getting bashed by the same people I was standing up for," she responded.
The 29-year-old MC received a lot of flak when she released her sexually explicit Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 "WAP" collaboration with Megan Thee Stallion. And Cardi aptly described the song as "the one that had Republicans crying on Fox News about it." Ben Shapiro read the uncomfortably censored lyrics on his own show shortly after the single dropped in August 2020 and sarcastically analyzed what part the song plays in the feminist movement.
And when Cardi interviewed now-President Joe Biden as well as former Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders ahead of the 2020 presidential election, Shapiro brought his fellow conservative commentator Candace Owens onto his show, who claimed the tactics were "pandering" to Black American voters by appealing to their music tastes and later sparked her own political debate with Cardi. The Invasion of Privacy Grammy winner also fired back at former Republican congressional candidate DeAnna Lorraine after she made an unflattering comparison between Cardi and Melania Trump.
In her cover story last year when she was crowned Billboard's Woman of the Year, Cardi reacted to seeing her and Meg's fans sing "WAP" outside the White House the day that Biden's win was announced last fall. "So many Republicans -- not just any Republicans that got an Instagram following, but a lot of Republicans that got blue checks [on Twitter] and millions of followers, [like Ben] Shapiro, Candace Owens, Tomi Lahren -- were talking so much crap about 'WAP,'" she said at the time. "So it was just a victory for me seeing people celebrating Biden’s win with my and Megan’s song. Power of the p---y, ya heard?!"
Cardi also opened up about how she wasn't just "bullied by the republications" but also harassed by Trump supporters during an Instagram Live video, to the point where one teenage boy tried doxing her home. "They be degrading me. They be making fun of me. I ignore them. I don't give a f---," she said. "Sh-- gets so intense that a Trump supporter posted my address and encouraged people to dox my home, to put my house on fire. I literally hired a private investigator, and serve them with a warrant and arrest this boy."
NEWS
Lola Young has joined forces with Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) to release a new T shirt for the charity’s Lifelines collection.
The shirt supports CALM’s suicide prevention work, with proceeds helping to fund vital resources such as its helpline and CALMzone mental health app.
CALM introduced the Lifelines range last year, with Fontaines D.C., Blossoms and Inhaler also contributing their own designs to the collection.
Young’s design includes the words, “There’s a flicker of light. There’s always morning after the night”, taken from her track ‘Flicker Of Light’.
“I wrote this song about realising there is hope. I have often felt like there isn’t, but there is always a reason to keep going,” Young said. “That’s even when you don’t want to get out of bed, you do, and that is amazing, and you’re still here, and you’re still alive, and if anything, that’s something to be proud of.”
CALM CEO Simon Gunning also shared his appreciation for the collaboration, saying: “We couldn’t be more grateful to Lola for supporting ‘Lifelines’ and showing just how powerful music can be as a force for good.”
Priced at £30, the T shirts come in both standard and boxy fits and are available to purchase here.
Young has regularly spoken about her experiences with mental health. She returned to performing earlier this year after calling off her 2025 tour because of exhaustion. The decision followed her collapse during a performance in New York City. During her time away, she later discussed receiving support for addiction and attending AA meetings as part of her recovery.
In an interview with NME in May, Young explained that she believes “all healing journeys are never ending”, although she is now “definitely in a much better place”. She also said she feels “excited and ready to perform and to release music”.
Reflecting on the encouragement she received after publicly discussing those challenges, Young said: “My fans inspire me in the same way I hope to inspire them. I feel like I’ve never tried to be especially honest… it just comes very naturally to me.”
“I don’t really have any other choice but to be honest, so if people connect to that, and that’s amazing.”
Several musicians have also applauded the ‘Messy’ singer for honestly addressing the pressure placed on touring performers. Lily Allen said she was “in awe” of the BRIT and Grammy winner, while Victoria Canal credited Young with bringing greater attention to the damaging impact demanding tour schedules can have on artists’ mental wellbeing.
When NME asked whether musicians were beginning to establish firmer boundaries around their health, Young replied: “I never intended it to start a movement, but I hope that it does in some way.”
