NBA YoungBoy Thanks Trump for Presidential Pardon: 'This Moment Means a Lot'

The rapper was pardoned along with eight others who were formerly convicted.

May 28, 2025

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 28: U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, accompanied by U.S. President Donald Trump, speaks during a swearing in ceremony for interim U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C. Jeanine Pirro in the Oval Office of the White House on May 28, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump has announced Pirro, a former Fox News personality, judge, prosecutor, and politician, after losing support in the Senate for his first choice, Ed Martin, over his views on the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

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YoungBoy Never Broke Again is the latest rapper to get a pardon from President Donald Trump.

On Wednesday (May 28), the Baton Rouge rapper was named among eight individuals — including former GOP Congressman Michael Grimm and real estate entrepreneurs Todd and Julie Chrisley — who were granted clemency.

"I want to thank President Trump for granting me a pardon and giving me the opportunity to keep building - as a man, as a father, and as an artist," YoungBoy said in a statement shared to social media. "This moment means a lot. It opens the door to a future I've worked hard for and I am fully prepared to step into this."

He continued, "Big thanks to the Pardon Czar, Ms. Alice Marie Johnson, for fighting for second chances for so many people, and to my lawyer, Brittany K. Barnett, for being in my corner and all your hard work to make this possible. And thank you to everyone who believed in me."

YoungBoy, real name Kentrell Gaulden, was previously serving a 23-month sentence for a federal gun charge stemming from a 2021 music video filmed in Louisiana, and a weapon being discovered in his Utah home last year. In March, YoungBoy was transferred from an Alabama federal prison into an reentry facility near Phoenix.

The rapper's legal troubles have surmounted over the years, with him pleading guilty for orchestrating a Utah drug ring and being fined $25,000. As part of his plea deal, YoungBoy's sentence was suspended due to his concurrent federal time. He was expected to be released in July.

The pardon comes just months before YoungBoy kicks off the 2025 Masa Tour, which hits 27 cities beginning September 2 in Dallas, Texas.