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Big Time Rush members Carlos PenaVega, James Maslow, Logan Henderson and Kendall Schmidt photographed in 2023.
When Big Time Rush agreed to appear on rapper Lil Uzi Vert’s new album, one of the boy band’s stars — Carlos PenaVega — refused to take part in the project.In an Instagram Story posted on November 1, 2024, by his wife, actress Alexa PenaVega, she informed fans that Carlos chose not to appear on the newly released song because it didn’t “align with his values.”“We work super hard to protect our values and the things we believe in,” she wrote in a lengthy statement, “especially when it comes to creating content that is mostly family friendly or what one would consider ‘safe.’”Alexa PenaVega Says Lil Uzi Vert Song With Big Time Rush is ‘Not Credited Properly’In her Story, Alexa lamented that the credits on Lil Uzi Vert’s explicit new single, “The Rush,” didn’t make it clear that Carlos didn’t participate with his longtime bandmates — Kendall Schmidt, James Maslow, and Logan Henderson.“Today a song was released that featured the boys from BTR minus Carlos because it did not align with his values,” she wrote. “While thankful for the opportunity Carlos kindly passed.”“Unfortunately it was not credited properly and is currently being represented as a BTR feature,” Alexa continued, adding that it should have been listed as a “Kendall, Logan and James feature.”“As a wife who has watched Carlos navigate his values alone in an industry not set up for ‘family’ I have at times both incredibly proud and totally heartbroken for him,” Alexa wrote in her Story. “This is not putting anyone down. We just respectfully would like to make the people who follow us aware of the mishap and address that this was something he was not a part of. God Bless.”Carlos shared his wife’s Instagram Story and wrote beneath it, “Love u my angel ❤️ Thank you for Always having my back”The other members of Big Time Rush, who first rose to fame on their eponymous Nickelodeon show that aired from 2009 to 2013, have not commented on the PenaVegas’ comments.But Henderson promoted the Lil Uzi Vert song online, retweeting a Rolling Stone article in which the rapper explained, “I made a song kind of dedicated to them, and I was like, ‘I wonder if they could say something cool in the beginning.’”Henderson, Schmidt and Maslow are only heard during the intro of “Rush Time” saying, “Hey, hey, you’re not Big Time Rush, dude, you’re not Big Time Rush, we’re Big Time Rush, we’re Big Time Rush…Lil Uzi!”Alexa & Carlos PenaVega Left Hallmark to Make ‘Kingdom-Hearted’ MoviesHallmarkCarlos and Alexa PenaVega in Hallmark’s 2023 movie “Never Too Late to Celebrate”
This isn’t the first time the PenaVegas have let their beliefs guide their career decisions, from music to movies.The couple, who’ve co-starred in multiple Hallmark movies together including its “Picture Perfect Mysteries” franchise, announced in April they had left the network for Great American Family, a cable network started by former Hallmark Media CEO Bill Abbott. According to the Washington Examiner, the network prioritizes programming “based on basic conservative principles.”In August, the couple told Fox News Digital that they set “healthy boundaries” in their work, including when a script calls for one of them to be in a romantic scene with another star.“That’s what I love so much about Great American Family,” Carlos told the outlet. “If she’s not doing a movie with me, I know that whatever she’s doing, whoever she’s with, it’s safe. And it’s all going to be good. So, for us, this is such a great home for us.”Alexa also said that though their faith plays a big part in the projects they take on, they don’t want to strictly sign on for Christian projects.“So, we’re in this half-and-half place,” she told Fox News Digital. “We think faith-based films are really important, but I think, more importantly, are movies that are for the world, but they’re made by kingdom-hearted people because we don’t want to just make Christian movies.”“We want to make movies that just have so much, so much behind them, so much meaning, to where you walk away and feel really good and don’t even know why,” she continued. “It’s because everything in the movie is really coming from a kingdom heart, but we’re talking about real world things. I think it’s really easy for Christian films to come across as cheesy, (as) cookie cutter, when, honestly, the Christian life is hard.”On October 25, Carlos launched a new Christian music duo, Angels + Kings, with his friend, Alex T. Marshall, but has assured fans that he’ll continue to work with Big Time Rush, too.
Liv Lane is an entertainment writer who covers the Hallmark Channel, HGTV, American Idol and The Voice for Heavy. Based in Minneapolis, she has three decades of experience as a local and national radio host, columnist and publicist, interviewing and working with a wide range of celebrities over the years, from Deepak Chopra to Lil Nas X. More about Liv Lane
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