Luke Bryan has spoken out in the wake of his latest family tragedy. On Tuesday, the country artist sadly lost his niece Sadie Brett Boyer, who born last summer with a number of cardiac problems. The young girl was the daughter of Luke’s wife’s brother, Bo Boyer, and his wife, Ellen, the latter of whom often provided updates on the child’s health via her Facebook page. And, on Monday, Ellen shared that her daughter “declined overnight.” Sadie was reportedly being treated at the time for an infection that affected her liver. “Please flood the heavens with prayers,” Ellen wrote to friends and family members. “We will not give up on our tough, brave Brett.” Unfortunately, however, the baby lost her battle and passed away yesterday. “We thank all of you for your prayers,” the country crooner wrote to his 8.34 million followers in response to their support in the wake of this development. “Love y’all,” he added. According to mom Ellen’s Facebook account, Sadie had been seeking treatments in a Nashville hospital for her condition. On Thursday, February 16, Ellen informed followers that Sadie had her “best week this yet,” adding: “I am so so grateful and so proud of our girl. She’s fighting so hard!” Three days later, though, Ellen revealed that her daughter’s health had taken a sharp decline. “Brett seems to have an infection of some sort. The team is leaning toward blood infection/sepsis. Her blood pressures and her temp have been really low today and got pretty scary low around 3,” she wrote. “ “She is on several antibiotics so our prayer is that they will be the correct ones to treat this infection. … Please pray for the team as they work hard to help our girl.” This isn’t the first time the 40-year-old country artist has dealt with a family tragedy. Bryan’s brother, Chris, was died in a car accident in 1995 at the age of 26. Moreover, his sister, Kelly, passed away in 2007 at her home of undetermined causes. She was only 39 years old at the time. “My only siblings gone from the world in a flash, in two different, crazy, tragic manners,” Bryan told ABC News in 2013. A year later, he said in another interview, when these unbearable losses were brought up: “Losing my brother changed me tremendously and losing Kelly, even more. I literally do not take one second for granted.” Luke Bryan National Anthem Performance: How Did He Do? We truly cannot imagine suffering through one of these tragedies, let alone three. We send our thoughts to Luke Bryan and his family during this very difficult time.
Today would have been Robert Kardashian Sr.’s 73rd birthday. An attorney best known for his friendship with O.J. Simpson and involvement with the football legend’s famous murder trial, Kardashian passed away in 2003, when his namesake son was just 16. Rob Jr. took time out today to pay tribute to his late father in a series of heartwarming Instagram posts: “Happy birthday pops,” Rob captioned the photo above. A few minutes later, he posted another throwback image of himself and his father. This time, he kept the tone light, but stated that he wished Robert Sr. had been able to meet his granddaughter Dream Kardashian. “Happy birthday dad woohoo! Wish you were here to meet Dream,” Rob captioned the image below. Rob welcomed daughter Dream back in November, and he’s frequently opened up about how becoming a father has made him miss his own dad even more. Rob’s life has been undeniably turbulent in recent years, thanks to health and emotional issues and frequent breakups with Blac Chyna , Dream’s mother. Fortunately, he seems to be very gradually moving in the right direction, and many who know Rob best say that that’s largely because of his father. The two men reportedly shared an unbreakable bond, and many believe that when Rob lost his way in recent years, it was due in part to unresolved grief over his father’s death. Now that Rob is back on the right path, those closest to the 29-year-old say it’s all because he’s realized he wants to be the kind of dad his father was. Insiders say that after several reconciliations, it’s really over between Rob and Blac these days, but apparently, the couple called it quits mainly for the sake of their daughter. Both parties reportedly believed that the constant fighting and jealousy that defined their relationship didn’t make for a good environment for Dream. Rob and Blac may not be good together, but that doesn’t mean they can’t both be good parents. Sources say it’s a lesson Rob only learned recently – and one of many that he credits to his beloved father. View Slideshow: Blac Chyna and Rob Kardashian: A Turbulent Timeline of Doom
Kawan “KP” Prather On DJ Duty For The Global Spin Awards Last week The 2017 Global Spin Awards went down in New Orleans on Thursday. BOSSIP had the opportunity to catch up with Grammy winning songwriter/producer Kawan “KP” Prather before the show about serving as house dj for the Global Spin Awards, his new role as head of music at Pharrell Williams’ I Am OTHER collective and the truth about the voting members of the Grammy Awards. For those who don’t already know, Prather got his start in the music industry as DJ for Parental Advisory, a Dungeon Family act once signed to LaFace records. In his years since, he’s gone on to write and produce for numerous acts and worked as an A&R at labels including Sony and Atlantic. Most recently Prather has been a highly visible DJ responsible for setting the mood for some of the hottest parties in Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York. “I’m overly excited,” KP told BOSSIP about heading to New Orleans to serve as official DJ for the Global Spin Awards. “I’m anxious, actually kinda nervous, not in a scary kinda way — I guess anxious is the word. It’s deejaying for your heroes. It’s weird. I feel good about what I do but I haven’t done it in a space with these kinds of eyes and ears.” Prather told BOSSIP the Global Spin Awards are important because good DJ’s don’t get their just due. “It’s important we recognize great DJ’s,” KP told BOSSIP. “A lot of times the craft doesn’t get the credit it deserves because there are a lot of really bad DJ’s stinking up a room, in their headphones, in their own little world. You have to shed light on people who do it as a craft.” Especially excited for the No Limit Reunion planned at the Awards, Prather said New Orleans was the perfect setting for this year’s ceremony. “They make the most Lit music, from Bounce to Rap — everything about New Orleans is so festive that it inspires that energy,” Prather explained. “Even the hardest murdering songs feel fun. C-Murder “F Them Other N’s” doesnt ‘even feel harsh when it’s on. To be celebrating No Limit and DJ’s in New Orleans — it’s the perfect place.” Besides his duties at the Global Spin Awards, Prather has been busy in his role as Head of Music at I Am OTHER — Pharrell Williams creative collective. “I run the music portion of all things Pharrell, but he has so many portions to him,” Prather said, happily listing Williams’ many accomplishments. “His access is fashion, it’s movies, it’s now about to be TV. I feel honored to feel respected enough and that he feels comfortable enough to put that in my hands — based on how important he is to the creative world. It’s a real big deal to me.” KP says the pair reached their working agreement in a moment when they both were wrestling with some career discontent. “Ironically it came out of both of us being super frustrated,” Prather recalled. “There was a moment when the song “Happy” was supposed to go somewhere else and we both thought it was a good idea, but for one reason or another nobody else was on our side about it. It came down to one of those conversations of ‘Man, you should just do it.’ We have been working together since T.I. ‘I’m Serious.’ Pretty much every project I’ve done, he’s had the opportunity to work on it if he wanted to and he always showed up.” “We’ve had a very trusting music relationship for so long that we were having this conversation where we both were in a place where, after you’ve accomplished anything, after the accomplishment is over, you’re new again. There’s always a thing of as you grow older, you’re constantly being questioned about whether you are still in touch with what’s hot, and even if you are, it’s just assumed that you aren’t, so we were forced into a place where we were the only people who believed what we were saying. After “Happy” took off, he was like ‘Look man, I know you are frustrated and I need someone I trust music and tastewise here. If that’s something you’re interested in, we can just start something.’ It was kind of a no-brainer for me, because it was like what else is there for me to do but start something new? The fact that it’s called I am OTHER made it cool, because it was like it could be anything. We get to do a lot of fun stuff. It’s cool because we know each other, and understand our intent and the goal. It’s cool to work with Pharrell because he also understands why it’s important for me to be creative on this side and express that on the DJ side. For Complex Con we did an I am OTHER set with all the artists and I dj’d the set as kind of a Music Director. There’s a picture that we got that I put on my Instagram that I love because it’s the entire crew on one stage and being up there, but in the background where I enjoy being, but still being a part — it was just a really cool thing. As a crew and as a company everybody around us is really talented and it’s amazing to be in an environment where that’s cool. What Prather is describing sounds like a dream job, and that’s exactly what it’s become for him. In his role he’s constantly working with Pharrell as well as their young artists, who include Kap G, Bia and Buddy. “The roster — it’s shapeshifting,” KP admits when we ask him about the artists who work with the collective. ” I signed Kap G when I was at Atlantic, but when I left we were able to do a partnership with I Am Other and Atlantic so I’m still able to work with him. We have an artist named Buddy who has a song out right now called “Shine” that’s digitally blowing up. It’s one of those positive inspiring songs. We have an artist Bia, she was just on a #1 Spanish record called “Safari” that Pharrell produced, and her record is about to come it out. Watch the Duck is about to drop, we just did a partnership with Interscope for them, they have a smash record called “Where You Are” that I can’t wait to come out. We have a lot of talented people doing musically acrobatic things — they all kinda land though. Last year KP won a Grammy as part of the songwriting team behind Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright.” We asked him about the controversy over Beyoncé losing out on Album of the Year honors to Adele. “Ironically I’m really aware of the process,” Prather said of the Grammy’s. “It honestly has come down to — our artists and producers don’t get involved, so the votes are by people who step up, and a lot of times those are the older members, those who have moved on from the vanity of it and they’re now in it for a community. We from the hip-hop and r&b community, you know black music, we have to step up and make our voices heard — if we care. I’ve heard people say they don’t care ‘it’s just a trophy.’ It’s one of those things, if you care, which I do, because I think it’s dope that you can be voted for and by your peers, people that are in your industry so they understand the work. Once we start producing and getting money, we gotta look at how we get on as a whole. If you look at the crowd that’s the audience of the Grammy’s — that’s the voting population of the Grammy’s. Definitely something to think about — riiight? We couldn’t let KP go without asking him if he had any advice for Pharrell being a father of four himself. “We just had this conversation,” KP told BOSSIP. “He hit a buzzer beater and tied the game. I don’t have any advice for triplets. His four is different from me having four. Honestly, Pharrell is a good dude and that usually translates into being a good dad. How he’s been with Rocket and his family in general, he’s one of those people who is so aware that he just handles those things really well. I think his wife Helen is a superhero for being able to pull that off.” If you’d like to keep up on what’s next for KP you can follow him on Instagram and Twitter @kawanprather The Global Spin Awards airs Thursday February 23, 2017 at 10:00pm ET/7:00pm ET, exclusively on REVOLT
Sophia Abraham has shared a controversial new photo on Instagram. And we know what you’re thinking: Isn’t any photo of Sophia Abraham on Instagram automatically controversial? Considering this is a seven-year old who has no business having a social media account of her own? Yes it is. But Sophia also has her own Apple computer and her own PayPal account. So let’s not lose focus here. We could spent the next several weeks talking about all the ways in which Farrah Abraham is an awful parent. (Or we could spend at least one solid photo gallery talking about all the ways in which Farrah Abraham is an awful parent .) In Abraham’s latest mothering fail, the Teen Mom veteran decided to dress her toddler up like Kylie Jenner; fortunately eschewing a string bikini, but still plopping a set of giant lips across Sophia’s face. “Mood,” Sophia Farrah wrote as a caption to the photo, which does at least feature a juice box, something the average seven-year old would wear. But the enormous lips and the sparkly nail polish? We can’t say the same about those accessories. Awhile back, Kylie notoriously admitted to getting lip fillers to enlarge her lips, a procedure that Farrah knows an awful lot about. In 2015, the young mother made an appearance on the E!’s Botched after she was hospitalized when a routine lip injection went horribly wrong, resulting in an severely swollen upper lip. But the important point here is that Farrah actually got the lip injection. And that’s she on record as saying she isn’t against Sophia modifying her looks at some point with the help of a medical professional. “If she validly wants something, that’s not outlandish, and she envisions herself that way… yeah I’m going to support that,” Farrah previously told In Touch of her daughter someday getting plastic surgery. Let’s hope the photo above isn’t Farrah’s subtle way of saying she plans to inject the child’s lips someday soon. View Slideshow: Farrah Abraham: A Ridiculous, Sometimes X-Rated Life in GIFs This is merely the latest example of Sophia Abraham posing in a manner wholly unsuited for a person her age. Remember the professional modeling photo Farrah shared of Sophia in a bathing suit ? “There’s a lot of young children who do modeling, and everyone loves her pictures,” Farrah said last year after receiving criticism for the photo below, adding at the time: “I think because we’re on Teen Mom: OG, we get bad criticism, but Sophia’s doing amazing in modeling, I couldn’t be more proud of her… “The more pictures and more she’s in a positive light and happy with what she’s doing, there’s nothing wrong with embracing how awesome Sophia is.” That last part is true. No one can find fault with a parent instilling a sense of self-confidence in a child. But is that what Farrah is really doing here? Or is she exploiting her young offspring for headlines and attention? And even actual money? As if it’s not shameful enough that Sophia has spent a majority of her childhood filming a series that’s mostly about what a nightmare her mom is, Farrah opened up a boutique named after her daughter in the fall. “I’m very blessed and lucky to have this opportunity with my daughter,” the Teen Mom said at the time , referring to Sophia Laurent. Sophia, naturally, was placed front and center in ads for the shop: “Why not make money when you’re seven years old?” Farrah asked in an interview with In Touch. “I mean, she’s been making money since she popped out!” No, Farrah, YOU’VE been making money since she popped out! Off of her! There’s a big difference here. Heck, not even Kris Jenner had Kylie or Kendall shill for any products or pose online at this young of an age. View Slideshow: Farrah Abraham: The Evolution of THAT Face All we can do at this point is hope and pray that we never need to make a photo gallery about Sophia like the one we made about Farrah directly above. We hope that precious and adorable face remains exactly the way it is now. Forever.
There’s nothing new about Teen Mom 2 fans criticizing Leah Messer’s parenting skills . The jabs have been near-constant from the time Leah started on the show, and they’ve only intensified over the past two seasons. But while the critiques are usually prompted by Leah’s actions on screen, the latest round of rebukes was prompted by a post on her Instagram page: Leah posted the above photo of 7-year-old twin daughters Ali and Aleeah, and because some people still have leftover rage to vent after they’re through arguing politics on Facebook, Messer was torn apart for allowing Ali to wear so much makeup. “Something about little girls wearing makeup that is really disturbing and unsettling to me,” wrote one commenter. “They [are] too young [to] be wearing that much makeup,” echoed another. Some irate Brit (we’re assuming, based on the use of the word “bloody”) took things a step further, going so far as to call the image “vile”: “All that makeup is vile,” wrote the probable Brexit supporter. “I understand they put a bit on for performances, I don’t agree with it, but I get it, but bloody hell this is too much.” Yes, we’re probably about a week away from changing our currency over to rubles, but people still have enough outrage left over to get all worked up over a young girl wearing makeup for a cheer competition. Fortunately, Leah still has plenty of supporters, several of whom clapped back at the critics on her behalf: “It’s competitive cheer you have to have that much make up so the judges can see you,” wrote one fan. “There are so many lights on you while your competing that it washes you out.” Others pointed out that some folks were so busy fuming over Aleeah’s makeup that they missed the really important thing about these photos. Leah’s other twin, Ali, has muscular dystrophy and might eventually be confined to a wheelchair. She has difficulty walking, much less competing in cheerleading competitions, and yet there she is in the first photo, smiling by her sister’s side. The fact that Leah seems to be doing a fine job of making all three of her daughters feel sully supported and uniquely special given the number of challenges the family has faced is something of a small miracle. We’re gonna go out on a limb and say her daughters’ smiles are a better indication of her parenting ability than the amount of makeup on their faces. Watch Teen Mom 2 online to see Leah do her best under extremely difficult circumstances. View Slideshow: Leah Messer Bad Parenting Excuse Hall of Fame
Orlando Magic Baller Aaron Gordon’s Sister Is Fine As Hell All-in-all, people didn’t seem to be too enthused about NBA All-Star Weekend in New Orleans this year. It’s hard to say why exactly, but the energy just wasn’t really there. That said, the 3-day extravaganza of sports entertainment did give us a lil’ something that has lead us to this post. Devin Booker should turn around pic.twitter.com/WjhCM8rXF6 — Busted Coverage (@bustedcoverage) February 19, 2017 An innocuous camera shot of Devin Booker sitting on the bench led a great many on Twitter to calmly and politely ask: “WHO THE F**K IS THAT SITTING BEHIND HIM?!? WHAT’S HER @????” Don’t say we never did anything for you. The fine young lady sitting behind Booker is none other Elise Gordon, sister of should-be Slam Dunk Contest champion Aaron Gordon of the Orlando Magic. Elise is currently working as her Aaron’s manager. She is a graduate of Harvard University with a Bachelor’s degree in Government. Elise also played center for the Harvard women’s basketball team as she stands 6’1″. Tall glass of water. Flip the page to drink of all Elise’s glory. Images via Instagram
Toni Braxton was down in the Nola to celebrate the All-Star game and Birdman’s 55th birthday (jk). Toni belts out a soulful rendition of Happy Birthday before getting smoke blown in her face while lunging toward a hug. Turn the pages for more pictures and video of Toni and Birdman…
It appears as if Chris Zylka has spent at least one night in Paris. Hilton, that is. In a sexual manner of speaking. The socialite-turned-DJ-turned- Donald-Trump-voter shared several PDA-filled Instagram photos with over the weekend of her and her new boyfriend. There hadn’t been any rumors prior to these pictures of Hilton and Zylka even knowing each other, but it’s now pretty obvious that they do know each other… intimately. “My #Valentine,” Hilton captioned the above photo of the couple dressed in some rather fancy clothes. That pretty much says it all right there, doesn’t it? In a second photo from the same evening, Hilton looks beautiful in a maroon-patterned dress and diamond choker, while The Leftover actor dons a tuxedo and black tie. “The best feeling is when someone looks at you like you are magic…” Hilton wrote of this snapshot. Zylka is likely best known for his role in HBO’s The Leftovers, as mentioned above. But he also appeared on The Secret Circle, 90210 and in The Amazing Spider-Man. He was born on May 9, 1985 in Warren, Ohio. Prior to whatever occasion prompted Hilton and Zylka to dress to the nines for these images, the latter attended the entrepreneur’s star-studded birthday party in New York City last week. He was joined there by Paris’ sister, Nicky Hilton Rothschild, Ashley Benson, Keyshia Cole and other celebrities. Hilton posted an Instagram video from the night, in which her handsome new man presents her with a massive cake while the rest of the crowd sings “Happy Birthday.” In another new Instagram picture, meanwhile, the ex-reality star is embrace from behind (not like that !) by Zylka, as the two holds hand and appear to be very much in love. “Live. Love. Sparkle…” Paris wrote as a caption. Zylka was previously engaged to model Hanna Beth, but they broke up in 2015. He also dated Pretty Little Liars star Lucy Hale. Hilton has been with businessman Thomas Gross, Greek billionaire Stavros Niarchos, Backstreet Boy Nick Carter and Hills star Doug Reinhardt. That’s quite the eclectic dating resume, huh? We wish this relatively new couple nothing but the best!
For many of those who are old enough to remember a time when music was purchased in brick and mortar stores and MTV played videos, it’s difficult to believe that it’s been nearly 23 years since Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain took his own life . Though only 27 at the time of his death, Cobain’s influence on the music world was so profound that one seldom hears a conversation about the cultural climate of the ’90s in which his name isn’t mentioned. Sadly, Cobain’s daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, has few memories of her father, as she was four months shy of her second birthday when he died. There’s a tragic irony in the fact that the most potent living reminder of Cobain’s inimitable style, droll humor, and artistic temperament doesn’t remember the man herself, but Frances is clearly acutely aware of the ways in which she’s been influenced by her iconic father. Today would have been Cobain’s 50th birthday. The occasion has prompted outpourings of grief and nostalgia from family, friends, and fans, but perhaps no tribute is as moving as the one paid by Frances early this morning. The 24-year-old posted the following image of a handwritten note to her Instagram page: “Today would have been your 50th birthday. You are loved and you are missed,” the message reads. “Thank you for giving me the gift of life. Forever your daughter, Frances Bean Cobain.” In the past, Frances has spoken with surprising candor about her troubled father’s short life and death. “The world demanded it of him,” Frances said of her father’s suicide in an interview last year. “I think that was one of the main triggers as to why he felt he didn’t want to be here and everyone would be happier without him.” She added: “In reality, if he had lived,…I would have had a dad. And that would have been an incredible experience.” Early in life, Frances faced challenges few young people encounter (she was estranged from her mother, Courtney Love), throughout much of her life, she seems to have developed into a surprisingly stable and grounded adult. She’s mended fences with Love, endured a high-profile divorce with dignity, and built a career for herself as a a visual artist. Nothing can make up for the absence of a parent in a child’s life, but we hope Frances finds some comfort in knowing how proud she would’ve made her father.
