Daily Archives

Rapper Travis Scott’s recent arrest after a concert in Arkansas is not his first on accusations of encouraging fans to join him on stage.

Police in Rogers say the Houston-born musician, whose real name is Jacques Webster, was arrested Saturday night on charges of inciting a riot, disorderly conduct and endangering the welfare of a minor.

Police say Webster encouraged fans to bypass security and rush the stage, leaving a security guard, a police officer and several others injured.

The Associated Press has sought comment from Webster’s representatives.

Webster was sentenced to one year of court supervision after pleading guilty to reckless conduct charges stemming from a 2015 incident in Chicago at the Lollapalooza music festival. Chicago officials said Webster encouraged fans to vault security barricades. No one was injured.
…

Beyonce dominated last year’s BET Awards with “Lemonade,” but there’s more juice in her cup.

The pop star is nominated for seven awards at the 2017 BET Awards, the network told The Associated Press on Monday. The show will take place June 25 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

Bruno Mars follows Beyonce with five nominations.

Beyonce, who won video of the year with “Formation” last year, is nominated for the top prize again with “Sorry.” Her competition includes her sister Solange (“Cranes In the Sky”); Mars’ playful “24K Magic”; Migos’ No. 1 hit “Bad and Boujee”; and Big Sean’s anthemic “Bounce Back.”

Beyonce and Solange — who has four nominations — will go head-to-head for best female R&B/pop artist, along with Rihanna, Mary J. Blige and Kehlani. Beyonce’s other nominations include album of the year for “Lemonade,” the viewer’s choice award and video director of the year. She’s nominated twice for best collaboration with the songs “Freedom” (with Kendrick Lamar) and “Shining” (shared with Jay Z and DJ Khaled).

The winners in the 19 categories, including film and sports awards, will be selected by BET’s Voting Academy, comprised of entertainment professionals and fans.

Mars, whose latest album was inspired by `90s R&B, is also nominated for best male R&B/pop artist, album of the year, the viewer’s choice award and video director of the year.

Chance the Rapper, who scored four nominations and won three Grammys this year, will battle Lamar, Drake, J. Cole, Future and Big Sean for best male hip-hop artist. Nicki Minaj will compete with rival Remy Ma for best female hip-hop artist, an award Minaj has won since 2010.

Hip-hop trio Migos also scored four nominations.
…

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, a behemoth of culture and wealth, is rebounding from more than a year of internal turmoil and financial problems.

As part of its recovery efforts, the museum is considering a mandatory admissions fee for visitors from outside New York state. The set fee, possibly $25 for adults, would be the first in the venerable museum’s 147-year history.

Facing a $15 million operating deficit, the Met filed a formal proposal with New York City this month to charge visitors who don’t live in the state a set admission, instead of the current voluntary contribution.

“We’ve had financial challenges — significant ones — over the last couple of years that have culminated over the past year, and a rather significant need to reorganize the institution and to retrench our finances,” said Daniel Weiss, the museum’s president.

About 100 staff positions have been eliminated through buyouts and layoffs. The number of special exhibits staged each year is being slashed from 55 to about 40. A $600 million new wing that had been planned, but not fully financed, is postponed indefinitely. Instead, the Met will be focusing on more pressing capital needs, Weiss said, including spending as much as $100 million to replace a block-long “ocean of bad skylights” built in the 1930s over art galleries.

Met director and chief executive Thomas Campbell stunned the art world in February by announcing his resignation, amid criticism of the museum’s financial management.

“It was clear we were on a path that was not sustainable, and if we didn’t deal with it, it was going to get worse in a hurry,” said Weiss, who took the reins from Campbell and is now the interim CEO.

He blamed the museum’s financial problems on “a perfect storm” of money-sucking factors: too many costly special exhibitions; restaurants and gift shops where revenues declined; and public programming that was overly ambitious.

Revenue from admissions and membership also had slipped.

But make no mistake, there’s no immediate danger to the museum, which has endowments of $3 billion.

Admissions fees might help ease the current budget deficit, which was about 5 percent of the $315 million in operating costs in 2016.

“The deficit is not high compared to the total budget, but remember, these numbers are not just about the money: Donors want to back a winning story, and any indication that it’s not makes them skittish,” said Andrew Taylor, an arts management expert at Washington-based American University.

The details of how the fees would work are the subject of talks with the city, which gives the museum $27 million in subsidies annually. The city also owns the museum site in Central Park and has approval rights for entrance policies.

An entrance fee of $25 would be in line with admissions to other New York art institutions, from the MoMA ($25) and the Guggenheim ($25) to the Whitney ($22).

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio gave some generalized support to the idea, saying it was “fair” for non-state residents to pay something. “I’m a big fan of Russian oligarchs paying more to get into the Met,” the mayor joked recently.

Of the record 7 million visitors in 2016, 67 percent came from outside New York state and 39 percent of the total from abroad.

In recent years, the museum was targeted by a class-action lawsuit that challenged the Met’s “recommended”  $25 admission and accused the institution of obscuring the fact that people could enter for less. The case was settled last year when the Met agreed to say the price is only “suggested,” with signs telling visitors that “The amount you pay is up to you.”

Visitors have split on whether an entrance fee should be mandatory for some.

Angeleka Kunath, 64, visiting from Hamburg, Germany, said she feels foreigners should pay and would gladly do so to keep the Met running at its best.

“The price is worth it. Art is so important for our lives and humanity; it gives us inspiration it brings people together,” she said.

Ken Wilson, 60, who was visiting from Greensboro, North Carolina, said he didn’t think anyone would have a problem paying to get in.

“It’s amazing and educational,” he said. But he said it was unfair that New Yorkers would get a discount. And with the search for its new director underway, the museum could maybe discuss cutting the high six-figure salaries of its top executives.

 
…

Kara McCullough, a scientist working for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, has been crowned Miss USA.

McCullough, who represented the District of Columbia in the decades-old pageant, was born in Naples, Italy, and raised in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She said she wants to inspire children to pursue careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

“I love science,” McCullough said after the Sunday event. “I look at this as a great opportunity to … get to experience worldwide culture, as well as just having the opportunity to be impacted by so many children, hopefully in the math and sciences.”

McCullough bested 50 other contestants and will represent the U.S. at the Miss Universe contest.

This was the second year in a row that the representative of the nation’s capital won the Miss USA title. Last year, District of Columbia resident Deshauna Barber became the first-ever military member to win Miss USA.

This year’s top five finalists were asked questions that touched on the pros and cons of social media, women’s rights and issues affecting teenagers. McCullough was asked whether she thinks that affordable health care for all U.S. citizens is a right or a privilege. She said it is a privilege.

“As a government employee, I’m granted health care and I see firsthand that for one to have health care, you need to have jobs,” she said.

McCullough said she will be discussing with her supervisor whether she will take a leave of absence from her job at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission during her one-year reign.

Miss New Jersey Chhavi Verg, who studies marketing and Spanish at Rutgers University, was the runner-up at the event held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center on the Las Vegas Strip.

Verg was one of five women who participated in the pageant who told The Associated Press they immigrated to the U.S. with their families at a young age. Verg and the women representing Florida, North Dakota, Hawaii and Connecticut described the challenges and opportunities they faced as immigrants.

Verg told The AP that she and her parents immigrated from India to the U.S. with only $500 in their pockets when she was 4 years old. Her first winter she did not have a winter coat and the family struggled to adjust.

“I want to show Americans that the definition of what it means to be American is changing,” the 20-year-old said. “It’s not just one face. There are many different people who are Americans, and I feel like Asian-Americans often times are left out of the conversation.”

The contestants’ remarks contrast with the controversy that surrounded the pageant in 2015, when then-part owner and now U.S. President Donald Trump offended Hispanics when he made anti-immigrant remarks in announcing his bid for the White House.

Trump co-owned The Miss Universe Organization with NBCUniversal, but the network and the Spanish-language broadcaster Univision quickly cut ties with him, refusing to air the show. Trump sued both networks, eventually settling and selling the pageant to talent management company WME/IMG.

 
…

Katy Perry has announced her upcoming album will be titled “Witness” and will be released on June 9.

Perry has also announced an extensive tour of North America to promote the release.

The singer’s website says Perry’s first tour since 2015 begins Sept. 7 in Columbus, Ohio, and has dates listed through Feb. 5. Anyone who buys a ticket will receive a copy of the album.

Two singles have been released from “Witness” so far: “Chained to the Rhythm” and “Bon Appetit.” Perry hinted at the album’s name earlier this month by wearing a headpiece that spelled out the word “Witness” on the red carpet at the Met Gala.

Perry is set to perform on the season finale of “Saturday Night Live” this weekend.

 
…