Latest news with #dissTrack
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Taylor Swift and Blake Lively 'not speaking' as fans say singer's new song Ruin the Friendship targets actress
Taylor Swift has reportedly cut off communication with Blake Lively as she gears up to release a new album fans believe contains a diss track aimed at the actress, following a rocky turn in their friendship. The longtime pals' relationship has been under the spotlight ever since Swift's name got dragged into Lively's legal battle with her It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni, which began in December 2024. Baldoni's lawyers claimed Lively tried to 'coerce' Swift into issuing a public statement in her favor and even urged her to delete texts — a move that led to Swift being subpoenaed, despite her attempts to stay out of the drama. Baldoni's team eventually withdrew the paperwork, but the fallout had already taken its toll, as a source told at the time that Swift 'is done' with Lively, feeling she had been 'exploited.' On Aug. 13, Swift, 35, announced her upcoming album The Life of a Showgirl, which will include a track titled Ruin the Friendship — a song rumored to be about her relationship with Lively, 37. Now, a source close to the situation tells People, 'Taylor and Blake aren't speaking.' has not received a response after reaching out to representatives for Swift and Lively for comment. The pair weren't always at odds — their friendship stretches back to 2014 and was once famously tight. Swift, who serves as godmother to Lively and Ryan Reynolds' daughters, even wove the family into her music. Lively and Reynolds' daughter James has a voice cameo on Swift's Reputation track Gorgeous. All three girls — James, Inez, and Betty — are also name-dropped in Folklore, showing just how closely their lives were once intertwined. With the Baldoni drama heating up and Swift gearing up to release her new album, however, fans are losing it over what's really going on between the two stars — especially after the reveal of the track Ruin the Friendship. Online chatter has exploded, with users speculating whether the song takes aim at her former best friend and the rumored fallout. Swift has long blurred the line between truth and storytelling, so fans should brace for something more cinematic than factual. Swift, however, essentially shut down the rumors. She explained on New Heights with boyfriend Travis Kelce that she worked on the album while 'in Europe for the Eras Tour,' long before any drama with the Gossip Girl star arose. Swift, whose hit song 'My Tears Ricochet' was featured on the soundtrack of the 2024 film It Ends With Us, was pulled into the rollercoaster saga earlier this year when Baldoni filed a $400million countersuit accusing Lively and her husband Ryan of defamation. Explosives text messages from Baldoni's complaint revealed Lively had referred to the superstar singer and her husband, as 'my dragons' in a bid to intimidate him over ill-fated flick It Ends With Us. In January, a source told 'Her friends also think that Blake's "I'm Khaleesi, and like her, I happen to have dragons" text to Justin was uncool and unnecessary because she was essentially used as an intimidation tactic. She was referred to as some kind of pet or possession.' Since then, Swift has reportedly been trying to distance herself from the scandal as well as her friendship with Lively. Those efforts have included icing Lively out of her inner circle while boyfriend Travis Kelce has unfollowed Reynolds on Instagram. The revelation marks yet another bombshell twist in a case that has dragged in multiple A-listers and resulted in some legal zingers – among them Lively's dragon claim. The mom-of-four has also been accused of failing to read the novel on which the movie is based until well after filming started and forcing Baldoni and his family to sit in the basement during the premiere due to her refusal to be in the same room as him. On top of that, some of her allegations have begun to look dubious such as the claim that Baldoni had nuzzled her neck and told her 'you smell so good' during a dancing scene. Although she claimed it had been filmed with microphones off, obtained raw footage that showed the sound was on and that the conversation had instead been about the scent of Lively's fake tan. Attention has now turned to who else could be subpoenaed in the case, with Reynolds odds-on to have his communications scrutinized by Baldoni's team. Speculation arose around Swift and Reynolds' friend Hugh Jackman with reports saying that they too are facing a legal grilling. Up until this year, Swift counted Lively among her closest confidantes. They live just a stone's throw away from each other in New York's trendy Tribeca neighborhood, and Swift is godmother to Lively's three daughters. But things soured in December when Lively sued Baldoni, her co-star and director in the It Ends With Us movie adaptation of the popular Colleen Hoover novel. The following month, when Baldoni filed a countersuit accusing Lively and her husband Ryan of defamation, Swift was dragged into the mix. Contained in Baldoni's filing were screenshots of text messages and emails that named Swift. Baldoni also claimed that Swift was present at a pivotal meeting about the movie, held by Lively and Reynolds at their New York penthouse. For her part, a source close to Swift has said she simply arrived to find the meeting underway and had no involvement.
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Slander or 'trash-talking'? Drake-Kendrick Lamar feud has a day in court
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge is pondering the nature of rap battles and the cutting wordplay in Kendrick Lamar 's 'Not Like Us,' the megahit diss track that spurred a defamation lawsuit from his fellow superstar Drake. Drake sued Universal Music Group — both his and Lamar's record label — over 'Not Like Us,' saying the company published and promoted a song he deems slanderous. Universal says the lyrics are just hyperbole in the tradition of rap beefing, and the label is trying to get the case dismissed. Judge Jeannette Vargas didn't immediately decide after a lively hearing Monday, when the raw creativity of hip-hop brushed up against the staid confines of federal court. 'Who is the ordinary listener? Is it someone who's going to catch all those references?' Vargas wondered aloud, addressing a legal standard that concerns how an average, reasonable person would understand a statement. 'There's so much specialized and nuanced to these lyrics.' Neither artist attended the hearing. The case stems from an epic feud between two of hip-hop's biggest stars over one of 2024 biggest songs — the one that won the record of the year and song of the year Grammys, got the most Apple Music streams worldwide and helped make this winter's Super Bowl halftime show the most watched ever. Released as the two artists were trading a flurry of insult tracks, Lamar's song calls out the Canadian-born Drake by name and impugns his authenticity, branding him 'a colonizer' of rap culture who's 'not like us' in Lamar's home turf of Compton, California, and, more broadly, West Coast rap. 'Not Like Us' also makes insinuations about Drake's sex life, including "I hear you like 'em young" — implications that he rejects. Drake's suit says that the song amounts to 'falsely accusing him of being a sex offender, engaging in pedophilic acts" and more. Contending that the track endangered him by fanning notions of vigilante justice, the suit blames 'Not Like Us' not only for harming Drake's image but for attempted break-ins and the shooting of a security guard at his Toronto home. The mansion was depicted in an aerial photo in the song's cover art. 'This song achieved a cultural ubiquity unlike any other rap song in history,' Drake lawyer Michael Gottlieb said. He argued that Universal had campaigned and contrived to make it "a de facto national anthem' that didn't just address hip-hop fans who knew the backstory and were accustomed to over-the-top lyrical battling. The average listener could be 'a 13-year-old who's dancing to the song at a bar mitzvah,' Gottlieb suggested. 'That would be a very interesting bar mitzvah,' the judge opined. (The song has indeed been played at some such celebrations.) Universal, meanwhile, has emphasized that 'Not Like Us' was part of an exchange of barbs between Drake and Lamar. 'Context is key,' label lawyer Rollin Ransom argued Monday, at one point apologizing for having to use profanity while reciting some of the lyrics Drake aimed at Lamar in a track called 'Taylor Made Freestyle.' 'What you hear in these rap battles is trash-talking in the extreme, and it is not, and should not be treated as, statements of fact," the attorney said. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages. Drake also went after iHeartMedia, claiming in a Texas legal petition that the radio giant got illegal payments from Universal to boost airplay for 'Not Like Us.' IHeartMedia has denied any wrongdoing. That dispute was resolved in March. Drake hasn't sued Lamar himself. Jennifer Peltz, The Associated Press Sign in to access your portfolio
Associated Press
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Slander or 'trash-talking'? Drake-Kendrick Lamar feud has a day in court
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge is pondering the nature of rap battles and the cutting wordplay in Kendrick Lamar 's 'Not Like Us,' the megahit diss track that spurred a defamation lawsuit from his fellow superstar Drake. Drake sued Universal Music Group — both his and Lamar's record label — over 'Not Like Us,' saying the company published and promoted a song he deems slanderous. Universal says the lyrics are just hyperbole in the tradition of rap beefing, and the label is trying to get the case dismissed. Judge Jeannette Vargas didn't immediately decide after a lively hearing Monday, when the raw creativity of hip-hop brushed up against the staid confines of federal court. 'Who is the ordinary listener? Is it someone who's going to catch all those references?' Vargas wondered aloud, addressing a legal standard that concerns how an average, reasonable person would understand a statement. 'There's so much specialized and nuanced to these lyrics.' Neither artist attended the hearing. The case stems from an epic feud between two of hip-hop's biggest stars over one of 2024 biggest songs — the one that won the record of the year and song of the year Grammys, got the most Apple Music streams worldwide and helped make this winter's Super Bowl halftime show the most watched ever. Released as the two artists were trading a flurry of insult tracks, Lamar's song calls out the Canadian-born Drake by name and impugns his authenticity, branding him 'a colonizer' of rap culture who's 'not like us' in Lamar's home turf of Compton, California, and, more broadly, West Coast rap. 'Not Like Us' also makes insinuations about Drake's sex life, including 'I hear you like 'em young' — implications that he rejects. Drake's suit says that the song amounts to 'falsely accusing him of being a sex offender, engaging in pedophilic acts' and more. Contending that the track endangered him by fanning notions of vigilante justice, the suit blames 'Not Like Us' not only for harming Drake's image but for attempted break-ins and the shooting of a security guard at his Toronto home. The mansion was depicted in an aerial photo in the song's cover art. 'This song achieved a cultural ubiquity unlike any other rap song in history,' Drake lawyer Michael Gottlieb said. He argued that Universal had campaigned and contrived to make it 'a de facto national anthem' that didn't just address hip-hop fans who knew the backstory and were accustomed to over-the-top lyrical battling. The average listener could be 'a 13-year-old who's dancing to the song at a bar mitzvah,' Gottlieb suggested. 'That would be a very interesting bar mitzvah,' the judge opined. (The song has indeed been played at some such celebrations.) Universal, meanwhile, has emphasized that 'Not Like Us' was part of an exchange of barbs between Drake and Lamar. 'Context is key,' label lawyer Rollin Ransom argued Monday, at one point apologizing for having to use profanity while reciting some of the lyrics Drake aimed at Lamar in a track called 'Taylor Made Freestyle.' 'What you hear in these rap battles is trash-talking in the extreme, and it is not, and should not be treated as, statements of fact,' the attorney said. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages. Drake also went after iHeartMedia, claiming in a Texas legal petition that the radio giant got illegal payments from Universal to boost airplay for 'Not Like Us.' IHeartMedia has denied any wrongdoing. That dispute was resolved in March. Drake hasn't sued Lamar himself.
The Sun
03-06-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Krispy Kreme is giving away thousands of free doughnuts for one day only this week
KRISPY Kreme is running a "part exchange" programme where customers can swap a half-eaten doughnut for a new one. The iconic chain will upgrade partially-munched treats from rival brands in order to weed out " dupes" of its Original Glazed product. 2 2 Experts will be on hand in stores to "verify" the dupes, with indicators that it's not the real thing including the texture of the dough, the glorious glaze cracks and the iconic shape. For any who do have a dupe, thousands of free doughnuts will be up for grabs in all stores in the UK and Ireland on Friday, June 6 – National Doughnut Day. It has launched the amnesty after a survey of 2,000 adults revealed 73% of those who have bought "fake" food and drink items were left disappointed. Of the 49% who have bought a dupe, 79% said it was "not the same". And 72% would be willing to pay more money for an original or authentic product. A spokesperson for Krispy Kreme said: "They say imitation is the ultimate form of flattery, and we have seen many copies of our iconic doughnuts over the years. "But we all know a dupe is rarely as good as the real thing. "We want doughnut fans to enjoy the best of the best, so turn your backs on the dupes and stick with the original." In a further twist, the brand has also partnered with Lady Leshurr to release a diss track titled "We Run This Glaze" calling out dodgy doughnuts. The rapper, who has previously taken part in Celebrity Masterchef, Celebrity SAS Who Dares Wins and Dancing on Ice, has recorded the song taking aim at "fake" baked goods. Lady Leshurr said: 'For me, an original is always the best thing, whether that's music or doughnuts. 'You have to remind people who the originals are, otherwise history gets rewritten by the copycats.' It comes after the research, carried out via OnePoll, only 21% felt the dupes they bought were as good as the real thing, with 10% going as far as to say they were always disappointed. And 30% even claimed they sent a dupe back so they could go and get the original instead. While 53% have admitted they are unlikely to ever buy another dupe again after being feeling let down in the past. Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@
