R&B artist Kehlani broke her silence after Cornell University canceled her appearance at its Slope Day celebration, citing what it called "hateful views."
Taking to social media, the 30-year-old singer posted a video saying, "I am not antisemitic," while addressing the decision to drop her from the end-of-year event's lineup.
Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff previously said he rescinded Kehlani's invitation after hearing "grave concerns" that a performer "who has espoused antisemitic, anti-Israel sentiments in performances, videos, and on social media" would be featured, according to Arab News.
"While any artist has the right in our country to express hateful views, Slope Day is about uniting our community, not dividing it," Kotlikoff said.
"I am being asked and called to clarify and make a statement yet again for the millionth time, that I am not antisemitic nor anti-Jew," Kehlani responded in her video posted to Instagram. "I am anti-genocide, I am anti the actions of the Israeli government, I am anti an extermination of an entire people, I'm anti the bombing of innocent children, men women… that's what I'm anti."
Kehlani said she had been asked to clarify her stance "because this keeps coming up as a means to silence me, as a means to stop things that happen in my career, as a means to change the course of my life, and I just don't believe that."
Captioning the video, Kehlani wrote: "I know you've seen Cornell University cancelled my show, and now there are attempts at other cancellations on top of the cancellations i've already experienced over the past year. If you want to cancel me from opportunity, stand on it being because of your zionism. don't make it anti-jew. this a played out game. all this because we want people to stop dying. i hope this helps."
Throughout the Israel-Hamas conflict, Kehlani has been outspoken in her support for Palestinians. In the 2024 music video for "Next 2 U," the Grammy-nominated artist is seen standing before a Palestinian flag, and she has publicly criticized both Israel's blockade of Gaza and its continued military actions in the region, USA Today reported.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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