NEWS
Christina Aguilera knows “What a Girl Wants,” so she launched her own sexual wellness brand Playground aimed at empowering women. And in a revealing Wednesday (April 5) appearance on Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast, the 42-year-old pop legend promoted her products while diving deep into her life and career, touching on everything from the surprising age she lost her virginity to battling double standards as a young artist.
Though she didn’t reveal the exact time in life she lost her V-card, Aguilera shared that “it was later than you would think, given the girl that was doing ‘Dirrty’ and all this stuff.” “It’s so funny that I gave this persona because I probably was the last person to lose my virginity,” the vocalist said, referencing the explicitness of her earlier songs and music videos.
“[Sex] was something that was for me,” she added. “I guess that’s why my messages went the way they did, too, because I owned it first, maybe.”
Speaking of her early days, the five-time Grammy winner opened up about feeling misunderstood by the public and villainized by the media when she was promoting her album Stripped in 2002, which she said is her favorite era in her decades-long career. “I was like, ‘I have to do songs that mean something to me and are valid to who I am and being fearless and talking about anything,'” Aguilera told Cooper. “And that includes sexuality! I felt that there was a lot of shame and fear around the subject … so I just wanted to be who I was and make a safe space for everyone to feel food — and make it a conversation.”
“Growing up in this business, they’re gonna see you as a teenager, kid, they’re gonna see you as a young woman coming into your body, expressing yourself,” added the star, who as a young performer was on The All New Mickey Mouse Club in the early ’90s. “They’re gonna see you pregnant. They’re gonna see you go through the gambit of different places and stages in your life where you’re different kinds of weights. It’s so hard to just be inundated with different opinions.”
In addition to reflecting on growing up in an abusive household and giving pointers on her favorite X-rated activities, Aguilera also spoke about why she’s such a fan of her own Playground products, sharing that she prioritizes “defending or celebrating or opening conversations and doors for women to feel safe enough to talk about their sexuality and what that means for them.” “Everybody is so different and there is no shame in the game,” she added.
Listen to Christina Aguilera’s episode of Call Her Daddy below:
NEWS
Oliver Tree’s team has provided a new update following the singer’s death in a helicopter crash on June 14, confirming that a new artist grant will soon be established in his memory to help creatives secure funding, a plan he had detailed in his will before his passing.
Accompanying a collection of photos highlighting Tree’s performances, travels and creative work through the years, a post shared Sunday (June 21) on his Instagram account revealed that the musician’s remains have been brought back to California, the state he called home and where he will be laid to rest. “His legacy will live on through his foundation/endowment named ‘Dr. Oliver Tree’s Extremely Epic Grant For Baby Geniuses’ coming soon,” the caption reads. “This is something that Oliver had put together before his passing.”
“We will make sure his wish comes to fruition so that more joy, love and art can be spread into the world, that was his final wish,” the statement continued, adding that “the constant love, support and positivity” shown by fans throughout the past week has helped his “family, friends and collaborators make it through these extremely difficult times.”
Tree was among six people who lost their lives in a helicopter collision in Rio de Janeiro. The musician was in Brazil for his The World’s First Tour run and had performed what would ultimately be his final concert on June 6 in São Paulo. The other victims of the crash were identified as passengers Lucas Vignale, Gaspar Prim and Lucas Brito Chaves, along with pilots Alexandre Souza and Charles Marsillac.
Just months before his death, Tree discussed his plans to direct his fortune and future earnings from his music toward a grant program for artists during an appearance on the Zach Sang Show. “I take no credit for anything I’ve ever done,” he said during the April interview. “Furthermore, I don’t believe that any of the wealth or things that get made from it is mine. So when I die … my will is set up so that when I pass, my family, nobody is going to get a penny.”
“If I have a wife or kids or anything, they’re not getting a penny,” he added at the time, explaining that the initiative would focus on helping artists create work rather than funding education. “I’ll get my kids through college, that’s the agreement, but there’s not gonna be a silver spoon. All the money is going to go back to artists.”
