NEWS
The group of protesters voicing their support for Diddy outside of his criminal trial, when it kicked off earlier this month, allegedly found the gig through someone on Craigslist. According to illseed from AllHipHop, the people each allegedly made $20 an hour to wear shirts that had slogans in support of the Bad Boy mogul.
illseed writes: "So how did it all fall apart? After the Craigslist ads went up, I was told, the info ended up in a WhatsApp group. Or is that Signal? Either way, you get what I am saying. From there, it spread like wildfire. One of the people in that group — a mental health patient — told their therapist. The mental healthy specialist someone else, who told another person… and eventually, it got to me."
While the protesters may have allegedly been paid to wear "Free Diddy" shirts, 50 Cent has been promoting the shirt for free. Earlier this week, he shared an edited photo of himself attending the Indiana Pacers game against the New York Knicks, in which he changed his shirt to display the slogan.
Diddy's criminal trial has been going on for several weeks now. He's facing one count of racketeering conspiracy; two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
On Wednesday, his legal team made headlines by attempting to request a mistrial after arson investigator Lance Jimenez testified about fingerprints connected to a trespassing incident at Kid Cudi's home from 2011. According to CNN, Jimenez said he collected those prints to compare to evidence retrieved from the arson incident involving the rapper's car.
When he noted that an LAPD officer allegedly destroyed the evidence in August 2012, Diddy's defense team quickly objected. They argued that the line of questioning baselessly implied Diddy had a role in the move. Judge Arun Subramanian ended up denying the motion for a mistrial, but agreed to strike the testimony from the record.
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.”
