*Grammy award-winning The Weeknd has donated $250,000 to the Black Lives Matter Movement, which has a branch in the singer’s hometown of Toronto.
He has been public about his feelings over the recent incidents of police brutality. In July, the R&B star tweeted, “enough is enough. it’s time to stand up for this. we can either sit and watch, or do something about it. the time is now. #blacklivesmatter”
He also openly expressed his outrage following the back-to-back police killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile in July.
The #BLM donation follows his $50,000 gift to the University of Toronto in an effort to support its Ethiopic Studies Program.
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The Weeknd joins a number of musicians that have backed the movement. Beyoncé, Rihanna, Alicia Keys, and more appeared in a Black Lives Matter video campaign last month.
Meanwhile, Big Freedia’s (real name Freddie Ross Jr.) sentencing in her section 8 theft case has been delayed until Aug. 25. According to thejasminebrand.com, U.S. District Judge Lance Africk cited an unspecified court conflict as the reason for the push back.
As previously reported, Freedia pleaded guilty earlier this year to the theft of federal Section 8 housing voucher funds. She confessed to stealing nearly $35,000 in federal funds and faces a maximum 10-year sentence and $250,000 fine.
Last month, the bounce musician was ordered to a halfway house, after failing a drug test — testing positive for marijuana and methamphetamine use.
Freedia is known for her work in the New Orleans genre of hip hop called bounce music. She is credited with helping popularize the genre, which was largely underground since developing in the early 1990s.
In 2013, she got her own reality show on the Fuse Channel which chronicles her life on tour and at home. On July 7, 2016, she released her autobiography “God Save The Queen Diva.”
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