“I don’t know what that mean,” Wayne told Rolling Stone when asked about allegations he took money from the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant.
In 2020, President Trump signed into law the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, a $200 million program created to supplement the income of venues hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns and restrictions. Over four years later, Business Insider published a story documenting how money from the grant allegedly went to major international pop stars including Lil Wayne, who was said to have been paid $8.9 million. Asked about this in an interview with Rolling Stone, Wayne “[looked] genuinely perplexed” according to the author, and responded “I don’t know what that mean.”
Wayne’s manager Fabian Marasciullo did not deny that Wayne had received the money, but claimed that his client was unaware of its provenance. “He ain’t got nothing to do with none of that shit,” Marasciullo said in response to Rolling Stone‘s question. “He don’t know nothing about that. It’s not the way his money comes and goes or none of that shit, but everything’s been audited and clean. It’s done and over. It’s just people fishing. If you’re not famous, they’re not talking about you.”
Out of the nearly $9 million Wayne received from the program, just $327.3K was allegedly paid to contractors working on tours. The money was spent on “two years’ worth of spending on luxury hotel stays, designer clothes, and travel to and from nightclub appearances around the country.” Wayne’s ex-manager Cortez Bryant and then-manager Mack Maine also received payments of $2.1 million and $1.71 million, respectively.
Wayne did, however, double down on the text message described by a female Business Insider reporter as a “sexually explicit overture,” sent in response to a statement for their article. “Any female that text me is going to probably receive a sexual comment,” Wayne told Rolling Stone. “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.”