I’m not saying he’s a gold digger, but… Kanye West has made over $25 million this year because he didn’t perform.
With yet another event canceled this week — two controversial dates in St. Petersburg, Russia, have bitten the dust — Kanye’s global fans are being left out. But the rapper is still very rich in money.
Sources reveal that the artist now known as Ye only signs deals if he has paid half the amount in advance, whether he plays or not. That means he got ten million dollars for the canceled performances in Russia.
Ye has often been canceled due to public outrage over his anti-Semitic comments. Shows that never took place include the Wireless Festival in London, where he was due to headline last month. I’m told he’s still getting $7.5 million for it.
He also received $4 million (£2.9 million) for a canceled performance in France, and the same for an event in Italy that was canceled this summer. This year alone he earned a total of $25.5 million (£18.7 million) – all without having to clear his throat.
Ye, who has won 24 Grammy Awards, was scheduled to perform at the Gazprom Arena in St. Petersburg on October 10 and 11.
Kanye West has earned more than $25 million this year because he didn’t perform after a series of canceled performances
It was a bold move – or a foolish one, depending on your point of view. Although artists are not prohibited from performing in Russia, this entails financial complications and a high risk of political stink while sanctions are in force due to the war with Ukraine.
Earlier this week the stadium, which had already announced the performances on social media, said no lease agreements had been signed and denied ever organizing the concerts, adding that they would now not go ahead.
A source said: ‘Kanye’s management is killing his career here because any cancellation means there’s another market where people won’t hire him anymore.
‘It seems that the people who organized the performances in Russia did not have the opportunity to do so. Everyone was seduced by the money, and then it blew up in their faces.
“If you want to do an appearance in Russia, you have to sit down with one of Putin’s aides and give assurances that nothing will happen that will embarrass the government.”
Ye would have been the first major Western artist to perform in Putin’s Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022.
In January, he issued a lengthy apology, in the form of an ad in the Wall Street Journal, blaming bipolar disorder for his “poor judgment” and “reckless behavior.”
“I regret and am deeply hurt by my actions in that state,” he said in the statement. “However, it is no excuse for what I did. I am not a Nazi or anti-Semite. I love Jewish people.’
That may be true, but he previously released a song called Heil Hitler and sold swastika T-shirts.
In April, Wireless Festival collapsed after Ye, the headliner, was banned from traveling to Britain on the grounds that his presence here would not be “conducive to the public interest.”
We can’t be beets, say farmers in Emmerdale
Possibly the most unlikely influencers, for the most unlikely reasons, are soap actors Jeff Hordley, 56, and his wife Zoe Henry, 52.
The Emmerdale stars (he plays villainous village mechanic Cain Dingle, she plays local vet Rhona Goskirk) have launched a social media account sharing their plight, and it’s been an instant hit.
Since Jeff and Zoe started on August 3, they’ve amassed 226,000 followers on Instagram and 320,000 on Facebook as they basically discussed the size of their beets and problems with prickly zucchini leaves.
Emmerdale stars Jeff Hordley and Zoe Henry in their reps
Life imitates art for L-plate Ludwig
David Mitchell – who plays reluctant driver and puzzle setter John ‘Ludwig’ Taylor in the hit comedy-drama Ludwig – also can’t drive in real life and failed his test at the age of 30.
David, 52, says: ‘I took classes and failed my exams around the age of 30. That’s just as much as if I would have been a danger to other road users.
‘When I was learning, I could never shake the image of being in that big metal thing full of petrol that I could lose control of at any moment: it was like walking around with a loaded gun!
‘One of the great ironies of series one of Ludwig was that my character John Taylor was criticized for being a bad driver, when at least he could drive.
David Mitchell – who plays reluctant driver and puzzle setter John ‘Ludwig’ Taylor in the hit comedy-drama Ludwig – also can’t drive in real life and failed his test at the age of 30
“He was played by someone who couldn’t drive and if he had, it would have been a threat. Being able to drive is helpful, but I’m at a time in my life where learning a new skill would be incredibly difficult.”
Rumor has it that Ludwig will retake his driving test at some point. Look after.
What would Lady Cora say! A new look for the old Lord…
RIP, Lord Grantham. And hello, Lord Hawthorne!
Practically dancing on the grave of Downton’s Abbey in Netflix’s new series The Gentlemen, Hugh Bonneville plays a super camp toff (with a carefully styled bouffant-do), hot with the scent of a handsome young man.
Bonneville was serious – some might even say dull – like the thoroughly decent Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham, in Downton.
But you can see him having the time of his life in The Gentlemen, series two of which can be streamed from next Thursday.
Described in the show by drug lord Bobby Glass (Ray Winstone) as a ‘posh c***’, Bonneville plays Lord ‘Dickie’ Hawthorne, who we first meet on a day of filming at the stately home of Eddie Horniman, the Duke of Halstead, played by Theo James.
Hugh Bonneville as Lord Hawthorne in the second series of The Gentlemen
Eddie wants to gain access to the House of Lords so he can influence marijuana legislation. And – no spoilers! – Dickie could play a big role in these efforts.
The colorful Lord Hawthorne stars as Jack (Harry Goodwins), the younger brother of Susie Glass (Kaya Scodelario). He drinks, he curses, he guzzles oysters – and he dances like Louie Spence in Ibiza.
At one point, over a cocktail, Lord Hawthorne says to Eddie, “I know I look like a useless old fruit, but I know when I’m being worked, rubbed and greased.”
Get the smelling salts, Mrs. Hughes! The Gentlemen have been in the news this week after it was suggested that Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, could appear in series three.
Netflix alluded to the hoo-ha in a press release for series two, which ended with the words: “ABOUT THE GENTLEMEN S3…Your guess is as good as mine.”
Do you expect me to talk? No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to empty the dishwasher
Is the ‘twist’ in the James Bond casting that producer Amy Pascal promises us the fact that Bond and his nemesis will be played by a real married couple?
Slow Horses star Jack Lowden is in the running for 007.
And his wife Saoirse Ronan (pictured with Lowden, above) has just told Empire magazine her dream is to become a Bond villain. “I want to go dark,” she said. ‘I said I wanted to be a Bond villain, and I was dead serious about that.
“I think it would be very interesting to have a young female villain.” Especially for girls and women, to see someone who can just direct all that pent-up anger somewhere.”
The couple Saoirse Ronan and Jack Lowden may play opposite each other in the new Bond
Amazon MGM Studios has struck a deal with longtime franchise stewards Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson to take full control of Ian Fleming’s iconic spy in 2025, and are currently casting, with an announcement expected this fall. The recordings could then start around the turn of the year.
Producer Pascal said: ‘I would say the end of the year is a good bet. We work very, very methodically.’ She added: “Daniel Craig is a hard act to follow. And it has to be something completely different, that is moving and exciting.’
A Mr. and Mrs. double act would certainly qualify. Other names considered for Bond are probably Callum Turner, Jacob Elordi and Tom Holland.
Nicola Peltz Beckham, 31, will receive a rising star award at the Venice Film Festival next weekend, even though (as noted in her citation for the Kineo award) she actually started acting as a child… 20 years ago.
Peltz Beckham will be honored alongside icon Faye Dunaway, who stars in her new self-financed film Prima, which is about ballet.
The first of Netflix’s Narnia films, directed by Barbie’s Greta Gerwig, will be the most expensive the streamer has ever made, with a budget of $280 million – more than The Odyssey.
However, after test screenings, emergency reshoots are made and it has been pulled from the November release and moved to next year.
The CS Lewis story has been moved to 1950s London, with an all-star cast including Daniel Craig and Meryl Streep. The first film is based on The Magician’s Nephew, a prequel to The Lion, The Witch And The Garderobe.
