Nicki Minaj to perform at Jeddah World Fest in (ultra-conservative) Saudi Arabia

[Refractive Reflections]

Saudi Arabia said Wednesday (July 3) that hip-hop star Nicki Minaj will perform in the ultraconservative kingdom as it sheds decades of restrictions on entertainment.

The female rapper is known for her outlandish, provocative style and hits like “Anaconda,” where she raps about her “big fat” backside. Her lyrics are often laced with profanities and her skin-bearing music videos often include twerking. Christian groups criticized her 2012 Grammy Awards performance, which included dancing priests and an exorcism. Saudi organizers announced she would be the headline act at the Jeddah World Fest on July 18. The concert, which in line with Saudi laws is alcohol and drug-free, is open to people 16 and older and will take place at the King Abdullah Sports Stadium in the Red Sea city.

Reactions on social media ranged from shock and joy to criticism and disappointment. In a profanity-laced video posted on Twitter and viewed more than 37,000 times, a Saudi woman wearing a loose headscarf accuses the Saudi government of hypocrisy for inviting Minaj to perform but requiring women who attend the concert to wear the modest full-length robe known as the abaya. Most Saudi women also veil their hair and faces. “She’s going to go and shake her ass and all her songs are indecent and about sex and shaking ass and then you tell me to wear the abaya,” the Saudi woman says. “What the hell?”

Saudi organizers said the concert will be broadcast globally and covered by MTV. Other performers include British artist Liam Payne and American DJ Steve Aoki. The kingdom is also promising quick electronic visas for international visitors who want to attend.

Over the past several months, the kingdom has seen performances by Mariah Carey, Enrique Iglesias, the Black Eyed Peas, rapper Sean Paul, and DJs David Guetta and Tiesto. That’s despite the widespread international backlash since October over the killing of Saudi critic and writer Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents close to the crown prince in the kingdom’s consulate in Turkey. Such concerts are a stark change from when Saudi morality police would raid establishments that played loud music.

Gender segregation between single men and women is still enforced in many restaurants, coffee shops, public schools and universities, but other rules have loosened with women now allowed to drive and attend events in sports stadiums.

https://www.billboard.com/articles/c...t-saudi-arabia

[Prowler]

...well that's surprising. I mean, isn't being overtly sexual kinda like her shtick? Shaking her big fake butt and all? That's pretty hardcore for Saudi Arabia.

[FredWolfLeonardo]

I am really surprised.

Will she be wearing somewhat less revealing clothing in Saudi Arabia?

Also, the article states that the concert will be Alcohol and Drug free, and women attending are still required to wear the abaya.

[Sumac]

I wish she just break every single fairy tale law of those ****ers. Sounds of their exploding asses would be enough to power planet for several years.

Alas, it won't happen.

[Candy Kappa]

It isn't too bad living in a conservative country as long as you're a man and have a certain amount of money to pay for... finer exotic experiences

[Refractive Reflections]

I think the new prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman, is trying to slowly modernize Saudi Arabia as shown in allowing women to drive (back in June 2018 ), allowing women into sport arenas, etc. But he's certainly going to face some resistance from Wahhabism activists.

The controversy surrounding Nicki Minaj's decision to perform at this month's Jeddah World Fest in Saudi Arabia received a boost Friday with word that the Human Rights Foundation was now publicly calling for the performance to be canceled due to the regime's violation of the rights of "tens of millions of Saudis."

As the Hollywood Reporter noted, the festival is alcohol-free and intended for listeners 16 years of age or older, though the women in attendance will be required to wear a full Abaya while viewing the performance from a separate area.

"Ms. Minaj, as you can see, you are scheduled to perform at a state-sponsored event in one of the most repressive regimes on earth—a country whose leader has also led a relentless campaign to silence women's rights activists," HRF CEO Thor Halvorssen said in the letter. "Many of the women who have advocated to lift the driving ban in Saudi Arabia are currently in jail and being subjected to torture that includes electric shocks, flogging, and rape."

Halvorssen also pointed out the fact that Minaj recently expressed public support for the U.S. LGBTQ community, explaining how following up that move with this festival performance made no sense.

"Just three months ago five gay men were beheaded after they confessed to crimes under torture," the letter states. "If you move forward with this performance for a festival sponsored by the Crown Prince, you will be in league with the people who respond to freedom of expression and thought with murder."

Read the full letter here. As HRF pointed out in an accompanying news release, the July 18 festival performance wouldn't mark the first controversy of its kind for Minaj. Back in 2015, Minaj was criticized by HRF and others for agreeing to a performance for former president José Eduardo dos Santos and family in Angola.

https://www.complex.com/music/2019/0...di-arabia-show

[snake]

She’s literally going to get killed.

[Candy Kappa]

Originally Posted by snake

She’s literally going to get killed.

Nah, no one bare does anything when MbS kills a journalist, but hell would break loose of Minaj was killed

[Hamato Yoshi]

J-Lo is going to Egypt , I believe.......doesnt sound like a place Id like to perform if i were a singer due to security concerns (Elvis couldve performed there in '75 but Parker turned down 10 mill)

[Coola Yagami]

Originally Posted by Sumac

I wish she just break every single fairy tale law of those ****ers. Sounds of their exploding asses would be enough to power planet for several years.

Alas, it won't happen.

Honestly we got no place to tell them how to run their country than they have to tell us how to run ours. They probably think we're all a bunch of sick ****s too

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by snake

She’s literally going to get killed.

She's too famous to be in danger. Celebrities like her can get away with things average people cannot. So I wouldn't worry about her much if I were you.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by Prowler

She's too famous to be in danger. Celebrities like her can get away with things average people cannot. So I wouldn't worry about her much if I were you.

Yeah, it'd be more the female fans of hers in Saudi Arabia that maybe decided to dress a little more risque to the venue that I'd worry about.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

Yeah, it'd be more the female fans of hers in Saudi Arabia that maybe decided to dress a little more risque to the venue that I'd worry about.

Yeah.

And it's one thing for them to kill a journalist who happened to be a Saudi dissident working and living in the US. But killing a very famous American celebrity like Nicki Minaj who's gonna perform at the Jeddah World Fest?! They'd gain NOTHING from that. The consequences would be nasty for them, in fact.

[FredWolfLeonardo]

Originally Posted by Prowler

Yeah.

And it's one thing for them to kill a journalist who happened to be a Saudi dissident working and living in the US. But killing a very famous American celebrity like Nicki Minaj who's gonna perform at the Jeddah World Fest?! They'd gain NOTHING from that. The consequences would be nasty for them, in fact.

Yeah, for one, a government sponsored assasination would strain the very strong relationship between them and the United States, and Saudi Arabia wants anything but that.

[Andrew NDB]

She just pulled out.

https://komonews.com/news/entertainm...arabia-concert

[FredWolfLeonardo]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

She just pulled out.

https://komonews.com/news/entertainm...arabia-concert

Why was I even thinking that Nicki Minaj and Saudi Arabia was gonna be a thing?

[Coola Yagami]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

She just pulled out.

https://komonews.com/news/entertainm...arabia-concert

Smartest thing she ever did.

[Autbot_Benz]

Originally Posted by Coola Yagami

Smartest thing she ever did.

Now if someone can talk some sense into Vince Mcmahon to stop doing those Saudi Super Shows. Oh wait that would be a total waste of time he needs that Saudi blood money.

[snake]

Damn, I wanted to see the backlash.

[Refractive Reflections]

Nicki Minaj is probably more upset that she wouldn't be earning the money, and that it was receiving publicity, which would expose her hypocrisy being claiming for being for women rights and LGBT rights. ...There's almost no way she could claim ignorance of Saudi Arabia's harsh laws.

Well at least we have other musician celebrities to carry through on the hypocrisy like Janet Jackson, Liam Payne, Steve Aoki, Chris Brown...

The Jeddah World Fest lineup has four new additions.

Nearly two weeks after Nicki Minaj announced that she was pulling out of the controversial Saudi Arabia concert due to human rights concerts, Jeddah World Fest revealed an all-new lineup for their upcoming show.

Janet Jackson, Future, Chris Brown, 50 Cent, and Tyga — alongside previously announced performers Liam Payne and Steve Aoki — will take the King Abdullah Sports Stadium stage on Thursday (July 18 ). The artists' addition to the concert came as a surprise to the Human Rights Foundation and similar organizations, who have asked that artists not perform in Saudi Arabia due to the ultraconservative country's lack of civil rights for women — women weren't given the right to drive or access to education and healthcare without the need for consent from a guardian until 2017 — and its heinous treatment of members of the LGBTQ community.

President of the Human Rights Foundation, Thor Halvorssen, reacted to the news in a statement to The Associated Press on Thursday, writing it was "profoundly distressing that [the artists] have chosen money over morals." He added: "These individuals constantly make public statements of support for LGBT rights and women’s rights, except, apparently, when a seven-figure check is attached. The hypocrisy is breathtaking. Principal apparently matters to them far more than principles."

https://www.iheart.com/content/2019-...rabia-concert/

Shouldn't be surprised with this type of double-standard practice since, in relation to the company realm, almost all corporations claim to be virtuous equal rights advocates in the western world, but still continue to do business with the Middle East, take for example, like Starbucks and Apple Inc.