Roseanne Barr has urged Lorde’s fans to boycott the singer, labelling her a “bigot” after she cancelled a concert in Israel.
Earlier this month (Dec17), the Green Light musician, real name Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor, announced she would be performing in Tel Aviv, Israel next June (18).
However, fans who support the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, calling for artists and companies to cut ties with Israel due to its government’s treatment of the Palestinian people, reacted angrily to her decision to perform in the Jewish state – with two from her native New Zealand, one of Jewish heritage, the other Palestinian, penning an open letter to the star.
Lorde subsequently took to Twitter, revealing she was considering cancelling the concert, before then explaining she had made the decision not to perform there after all.
https://twitter.com/therealroseanne/status/945080926215614464
Following the news, Roseanne tweeted a link to a story about the cancellation, writing: “Boycott this bigot: Lorde caves to BDS pressure, cancels Israel concert.”
Her post received mixed responses from fans, with many suggesting that a boycott of Lorde and her music wasn’t the answer.
“She was bullied pretty hard thats how #bds rolls. rather than counter-boycott, I suggest we make sure we know she was bullied and express our sadness at her caving to them,” one wrote.
“Boycotting is not the answer. Educating and reaching out to these people to explain why they are wrong is the answer,” another added.
Upon announcing the cancellation of the concert, Lorde tweeted: “i pride myself on being an informed young citizen, and i had done a lot of reading and sought a lot of opinions before deciding to book a show in tel aviv, but I’m not too proud to admit i didn’t make the right call on this one. tel aviv, it’s been a dream of mine to visit this beautiful part of the world for many years, and i’m truly sorry to reverse my commitment to come play for you. i hope one day we can all dance (sic).”
