Lorde branded as a ‘bigot’ in ad over cancelled concert
Lorde has been branded a “bigot” in a newspaper advertisement over a cancelled show in Israel.
The Royals singer recently confirmed plans to perform in Tel Aviv in June, but the live date was met with mixed reactions, with many supporters of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement urging her to reconsider and axe the show as a protest about the ongoing hostilities between Israel and neighbouring Palestine.
While Lorde has since pulled the gig, her actions have prompted backlash from pro-Israel supporters, with controversial U.S. rabbi Shmuley Boteach placing an ad in the New Year’s Eve edition of The Washington Post with a photo of the star superimposed onto an image of men running in a warzone with the headline, “Lorde and New Zealand ignore Syria to attack Israel.”
The advert also claims Lorde’s decision to cancel the concert showed how “growing prejudice against the Jewish state” in New Zealand was “trickling down to its youth,” and criticised the choice of New Zealand officials in December, to vote in favour of a United Nations resolution calling for the U.S. to withdraw its decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, along with 127 other nations.
“While Lorde claims to be concerned with human rights, she hypocritically chose to proceed with her two concerts in (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s Russia, despite his support for (Syrian President) Bashar al-Assad’s genocidal regime,” the ad states. “Let’s boycott the boycotters and tell Lorde and her fellow bigots that Jew-hatred has no place in the twenty-first century.”
Lorde, real name Ella Yelich-O’Connor, is yet to comment on the advertisement and has steered clear from social media since mid-December.
Upon announcing the cancellation of the concert, she released a statement explaining that she hadn’t “made the right call” on the Israel show and considered herself to be “an informed young citizen.” WENN