Stars clash after concert cancelled
An Emmy award-winning actress and comedian has labelled Kiwi singer Lorde a “bigot” and called on people to boycott her after the cancellation of her concert in Israel.
Roseanne Barr, most famous for hit sitcom Roseanne, took to Twitter to slam Lorde after her decision to cancel the gig following pressure from anti-Israel activists.
“Boycott this bigot: Lorde caves to BDS pressure, cancels Israel concert,” Barr posted.
That came after Juliet Moses, the spokeswoman for the Jewish Council of New Zealand, said that in succumbing to pressure to call off the concert Lorde had made a political statement. Moses said Lorde would perform in Russia on her Melodrama World Tour, and despite that country’s human rights abuses no one called on her to cancel that show or suggested she was a Vladimir Putin supporter.
The Grammy awardwinning star recently announced her tour on Twitter, confirming she would sing in Tel Aviv on June 5.
Fans then demanded the Kiwi songstress join the Boycott Divestment Sanctions Movement which is making a stand against Israel’s oppression of Palestinians. On Christmas Day organisers announced the show had been cancelled. In a statement Lorde said: “I’ve received an overwhelming number of messages and letters and have had a lot of discussions with people holding many views, and I think the right decision at this time is to cancel the show.” She added that she’s “truly sorry to reverse my commitment to come play for you. I hope one day we can all dance.” The Zionist Federation of New Zealand aired its disappointment and Israel’s Culture Minister Miri Regev called on Lorde to reverse her decision, calling it “ridiculous”.