Kehlani (she/they) was set to headline Cornell University’s annual “Slope Day,” but the invitation was rescinded after the university became “aware” of the singer’s stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict. This led to the following statement issied on Saturday (April 26) via social media addressing the escalating accusations of antisemitism.
“As I sit here working on my album […] I’m being asked to clarify and called to make a statement yet again for the millionth time. I’m not antisemitic or anti-Jew. I’m anti-genocide, anti-actions of the Israeli government, anti-extermination of entire people, anti-bombing of innocent children, men, women. That’s what I’m anti,” said the 30-year-old before mentioning that they were confronting the recent cancellation with their Jewish-Palestinian best friend and Jewish engineer in the room.
Kehlani added, “The very first live I did at the beginning of this genocide was with a really beautiful Jewish organization called Jewish Voices for Peace and I still continue to learn from and work alongside really impactful Jewish organizers against this genocide.”
The CRASH singer seemed unbothered by the performance being cancelled and is focused on their new music. “I want to be very clear in stating that I do believe that God has plans for me, and that’s not going to stop nothing I’ve going on. But I’m asked to clarify because this keeps coming up as a means to silence me, as a means to stop what’s happening in my career, as a means to change the course of my life and I just don’t believe that,” they explained.
The video statement was captioned: “ITS BEEN OVER A YEAR. From day one it’s been clear.”
Kehlani brought up a series of “attempts at other cancellations on top of the cancellations” that’s occurred over the past year, but was adamant about being mislabeled as “anti-jew.” The singer described that rhetoric as a “played out game.”
Their stance on being anti-genocide was most notably seen in the 2024 music video for their song, “Next 2 U.” Cornell’s President Michael Kotlikoff used that as part of his reasoning behind the cancelled show.
“In the days since Kehlani was announced, I have heard grave concerns from our community that many are angry, hurt, and confused that Slope Day would feature a performer who has espoused antisemitic, anti-Israel sentiments in performances, videos, and on social media. While any artist has the right in our country to express hateful views, Slope Day is about uniting our community, not dividing it,” Kotlikoff’s statement read.
A new headliner has yet to be announced.
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