Lil Wayne Denies COVID Fraud, Defends Explicit Text to Reporter
Lil Wayne is denying spending millis in pandemic-relief money on himself. Business Insider reported last year that the rapper received $8.9 million from the Shuttered Venues Operators Grant and spent portions of the money on private jets, clothing, and “mystery women.” When asked about the funds in a new Rolling Stone cover story, Wayne “looked genuinely perplexed.” “I don’t know what that mean,” he told the magazine. His manager, Fabian Marasciullo, added that Wayne “ain’t got nothing to do with none of that shit.” “It’s not the way his money comes and goes or none of that shit, but everything’s been audited and clean,” Marasciullo continued. “It’s done and over. It’s just people fishing. If you’re not famous, they’re not talking about you.”
The Business Insider story also included an explicit text Wayne sent to reporter Katherine Long. When she asked if he had seen an email, Wayne appeared to reply, “Did u see my dick? I’m sure it’s much longer and better than the email and u like em long right Ms Long?” Wayne stood by the message to Rolling Stone, saying it was common from him. “Any female that text me is going to probably receive a sexual comment,” he said. “My phone is a personal phone, so if you even got my number, that means you went out your way and doing too much, and if you texted me and I send you something you don’t like, then suck my dick. Just make sure you suck it right.”
Wayne was promoting his upcoming album Tha Carter VI, out June 6. He reportedly worked closely with Wyclef Jean on the project, and the duo even formed a sort of supergroup called the Gumbo with fellow New Orleans stars Jon Batiste, Ledisi, Trombone Shorty, and PJ Morton. The album also features MGK and Miley Cyrus, along with a Billie Eilish sample that Wayne has yet to clear. Most surprisingly, Jean convinced opera singer Andrea Bocelli to sing “Ave Maria” on a song after moving him with the story of Wayne surviving a self-inflicted gunshot at age 12. Jean told Rolling Stone the song “is going to stop time,” and, really, we believe him.
Correction, 2:10 p.m.: A previous version of this article stated that Lil Wayne’s album includes a Billie Eilish feature. It is an uncleared Billie Eilish sample, not a feature, per an update to Rolling Stone’s reporting.
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