Several big-name artists are getting slammed for the way they used grants that were meant to supplement money they lost during the COVID-19 pandemic. A new report suggests they spent the grant money on themselves instead of their businesses.
Per Variety, the Shuttered Venue Operations Grant, a government-funded program set up to help independent venues and arts groups who faced hardship in 2020 due to the pandemic was signed into law by President-elect Donald Trump. The maximum amount of funding for eligible applicants to spend on the “ordinary and necessary” costs was $10 million.
As Variety reported, they “were required to make a good-faith statement to the Small Business Administration and show their companies had lost revenue of at least 25 percent between one quarter in 2019 and the same quarter in 2020.”
At first, musicians weren’t included until the Small Business Administration overturned the decision in late 2021. Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, Marshmello, Steve Aoki, Alice in Chains, Shinedown and Rae Sremmerd were among the 13,000 artists who applied and received money. However, according to a report by Business Insider, these artists allegedly mainly spent the money they received themselves and other things outside its intended purpose.
According to the report, Lil Wayne received $8.9 million, which he allocated for personal expenses, including $1.3 million on private jets, over $460,000 on designer clothing, and a little over $2 million to resolve a debt owed over money he owed to his former manager Cortez Bryant. Meanwhile, Brown secured $10 million for his company CBE Touring, but he allegedly paid himself $5.1 million and spent nearly $80,000 on an extravagant celebration for his 33rd birthday.
According to its website, the Shuttered Venue Operations Grant program distributed over $16 billion in grants to shuttered venues.
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