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Friday, September 22, 2023

SZA's Manager Says She Skipped MTV VMAs Due To 'Disrespectful' Artist Of The Year Snub

SZA's manager Terence "Punch" Henderson said in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter that the singer skipped the MTV Video Music Awards as she was hurt by MTV's decision not to nominate her in the Artist of the Year category.

SZA's manager Terence "Punch" Henderson said in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter that the singer skipped last week's MTV Video Music Awards as she was hurt by MTV's decision not to nominate her in the Artist of the Year category.

Anderson said it was "disrespectful" not to nominate SZA for the award despite the musician having one of the strongest years of her career to date.

"Obviously, she had one of the best years, if not the best year, of any artist at this point. I don't see why she wouldn't be nominated for artist of the year," Anderson told The Hollywood Reporter. "It just really didn't make any sense to me. It's disrespectful."

Henderson said he did not get a proper reply from MTV about the lack of nomination for SZA in the Artist of the Year category during a call.

"They couldn't give a clear answer as to why she wasn't [nominated]," he said. "It was just, 'Well, she's nominated for all these other [awards].'"

"When we tried to set up the second call, they didn't want to discuss artist of the year, which to me was really a slap in the face. You can't discredit what 'SOS' has done and is currently doing," he added.

SZA's manager revealed they pulled her VMAs performance after the snub, saying, "I figured, why go perform and do this if she's not going to be respected to the highest level?"

"So, it was my call to actually pull out of the performance," he explained. "I felt it was disrespectful and I was very stern on that and influencing that. If there's any issues or backlash and all of that, I'm taking all of that."

(Photo: Jacob Webster)

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Jack Harlow Named Songwriter Of The Year For Third Straight Year At 2023 SESAC Music Awards

Jack Harlow was awarded Songwriter of the Year for the third consecutive year at the 2023 SESAC Music Awards.

Harlow also took home the Song of the Year award for his smash hit "First Class".

"We are honored to celebrate our songwriters and publishers across multiple genres," shared Sam Kling, Chief Creative Officer, SESAC Performing Rights. "SESAC is proud of its affiliates who continue to write chart-topping hits and we enjoy every opportunity we get to celebrate their achievements."

Additional award-winning writers include Daniel Lopatin, who took home four awards for his work with The Weeknd; Dez Wright, for his work with Young Thug and Drake; and Jimmy Napes for songs he wrote with Sam Smith.

The 2023 SESAC Music Awards were held at the Highlight Room in Hollywood on Tuesday, September 19.

Sony Music Publishing was named Publisher of the Year for the second year in a row, taking home a total of twelve awards for songs such as "First Class," "We Go Up" recorded by Nicki Minaj and Fivio Foreign, "Count Me Out" recorded by Kendrick Lamar, and "Mercury" recorded by Steve Lacy, among many others.

(Photo: Julian Buchan)

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Halle Berry Claims Drake Used 'Slime' Photo Without Her Permission

Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry has claimed Drake used a photo of her being "slimed" without her permission.

The Canadian rapper teamed up with SZA for their first in-studio collaboration, "Slime You Out." The track's artwork featured a photo of Berry getting "slimed" at the 2012 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards.

On Instagram, Berry explained that Drake's team had asked for her permission to use the photo and she had explicitly asked them not to. Despite not receiving permission, Drake used the photo anyway.

"He did have his people call my people, and I said: 'NO,'" Berry wrote in a comment on her post. "I didn't like that image of slime all over my face in association with his song. And he chose to do it anyway! You see. that is the disrespect. Not cool!"

Berry added, "Why ask if you intend to do what you want to do? That was the 'F**k you' to me. Not cool. You get it?"

"Slime You Out" dropped on Friday, September 15, and was co-produced by Drake and OVO signee Noel Cadastre.

Meanwhile, Drake's upcoming eighth album For All the Dogs is now set to be released on October 6 by OVO Sound and Republic Records.

The album features guest appearances from Nicki Minaj, Bad Bunny, and SZA. Production was handled by Bnyx and Lil Yachty, among others.

Darke dropped two projects last year: Honestly, Nevermind and a joint album with 21 Savage, Her Loss.

(Photo: Republic Records)

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