Jordan’s Pop Agency yesterday announced the cancellation of US rapper Bhad Bhabie’s concert in Amman after protests from the Jordanian branch of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
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Danielle Bregoli, known as Bhad Bhabie, released her tour details on Twitter last month, announcing two concerts in the Middle East, Amman followed by Tel Aviv the next day. In her tweet, she told her followers not to comment anything “political”, adding that she didn’t care about their opinions.
I’m going international this summer and don’t be commenting no political shit . Ion give a fuck bout ur opinion pic.twitter.com/jeV7o4LB70
— Bhad Bhabie (@BhadBhabie) May 21, 2019
Last October, the rapper also announced her support for Creative Community for Peace, an entertainment industry lobby organisation revealed to be a front group for the far-right Israel lobby organisation StandWithUs, according to American anti-occupation organisation Jewish Voice for Peace.
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In response to the rapper’s decision to visit both Jordan and Israel, BDS Jordan and Etharrak, a Jordanian group that opposes normalisation with Israel, wrote a joint letter to Pop Agency, the concert organisers, urging it to cancel Bhad Bhabie’s concert.
“As a boycott movement opposing normalisation with the Zionist enemy, we consider these actions destructive towards the Palestinian identity and in violation of the general public rejection of normalisation with the Zionist enemy.”
نبارك للجهود الشعبية وحركات مقاومة التطبيع MoveBoycott نجاحنا المشترك بإلغاء حفل المغنية الأمريكية Bhad Bhabie @Bhad_Updates الذي كان سيقام في عمان في ٨/ ٧/ ٢٠١٩ بسبب موقفها الداعم للكيان والمطبع معه حيث ستقيم حفلا في تل أبيب في نفس الفترة. #لا_للتطبيع #نجاحات_المقاطعة pic.twitter.com/dRro4Quj7k
— Jordan BDS (@BDSJordan) June 17, 2019
Performing in Israel has grown more contentious recently as BDS groups have gained traction in urging artists to respect the cultural boycott, in response to Israel’s ongoing violations of Palestinian rights.
READ: Resisting normalisation harms the occupation
In December 2017, New Zealand pop star Lorde cancelled a concert due to take place in Israel in response to BDS calls for her to respect the Palestinian call for a boycott. A year later, many international bands and artists, including Lana Del Rey, pulled out of Israel’s Meteor Festival because of BDS efforts.
Though BDS has seen a rise in support from artists, academics and activists, governments including those in Germany and the US have actively tried to outlaw the boycott movement, labelling it “anti-Semitic”.
Earlier this month, American hip hop singer Talib Kweli was disinvited from a German music festival after refusing to condemn BDS.
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