Cornell University is facing backlash from those who take issue with singer Kehlani‘s political leanings, as the Bay Area native has been booked to perform at the school’s Slope Day, an end-of-year celebratory concert set to be held on May 7.
The Oakland songstress, 29, has been vocal in their support of Palestine in Hamas’ conflict with Israel, speaking out via her social media pages and proudly displaying the Palestinian flag in her music video for May 2024 single, “Next 2 U.”
Kehlani’s booking was announced April 10, with some students and parents researching the star and taking issue with their pro-Palestinian politics. The issue was raised at a recent student assembly meeting, where those in opposition to her performance made their voices heard, The Cornell Sun reports.
School president Michael Kotlikoff claimed during the meeting that “We found out about the social media of this performer roughly three weeks ago,” in regards to Kehlani’s political posts. He added that while it’s “too late” to book another performer, the singer’s contract will restrict them from making any political statements during the show.
“We also altered that contract to make it clear that if there are any political events at the performance, there is full forfeit of the whole compensation,” Kotlikoff said. “We assured ourselves to the extent [possible] that this will be a successful event … without politics.”
A campus organization known as Cornellians For Israel, however, have started a GoFundMe with the intention of hiring an alternative act that, “does not actively engage in hate speech towards Jews and is also more entertaining and phenomenal,” according to the fundraising website.
Kehlani and Letitia Wright at The Double Club Los Angeles, Presented by Prada Mode held at Luna Luna on March 8, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Lexie Moreland/WWD via Getty Images)
In addition to supporting the cause via her video, Kehlani also called out her peers for not speaking up regarding genocide in Gaza.
“what’s good yall??? we don’t sell out shows without A CROWD FULL OF PEOPLE. the songs don’t chart without PEOPLE. the trends don’t trend without PEOPLE. you don’t draw a line at beheaded babies or people burnt alive after 7 months of plenty of other atrocities ? idc about the roll out the formula the strategy the algorithm at this point i’m begging U TO BE PEOPLE. BE A F**KIN HUMAN BEING.”
She added in the now-deleted May 2024 post, “It’s fk Israel, fk Zionism, and f**k a lot of y’all, too.” Check out the video for “Next 2 U” below.
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