MONEY TALKS

Stars Like Post Malone, Chris Brown Raked in Millions From COVID Grants

Even Nickleback got $2 million from the program. But how those stars spent the money remains unclear.

As COVID-19 ravaged the entertainment industry in 2021, the Shuttered Venue Operations Grant shelled out billions to keep movie theaters, museums and talent agencies alive. But thanks to some shoddy oversight, the federal program could have also lined the pockets of the industry’s most successful performers—whose touring companies were hardly in danger, but still raked in millions in grant money. According to Insider, Chris Brown’s company got a whopping $10 million, as did Post Malone’s—who, himself, had dropped $11 million earlier that year on a 9,000-square-foot sky chalet in Utah. Steve Aoki got $9.9 million, and Lil Wayne got $8.9 million. Even Nickelback found its way back into the news after getting $2 million. Granted, as Insider reported, many of these artists have big teams of employees that the money could have gone towards, but there were no rules attached. Additionally, the breakdowns on how the grants were spent remain largely hidden from the public, making it difficult to determine what the artists actually spent it on.