People are creating quite the fuss over Nicki Minaj’s upcoming performance in Angola.
This week, The Human Rights Foundation asked the Barbz to cancel her performance in Angola on Saturday, Dec. 19, citing a list of offenses committed by the president of the oil-rich nation, reports The New York Times.
In an Instagram post, the 33-year-old “Anaconda” recording artist announced that she’d be performing at a public Christmas festival hosted by the communications company Unitel. “ANGOLA! R u ready for the show?!???! Can’t wait to see u guys!,” she wrote. Soon after, the Human Rights Foundation released a letter revealing that the company is controlled, in part, by the daughter of José Eduardo dos Santos, who has ruled the country since 1979.
“Nicki Minaj is a global artist,” the group’s president Thor Halvorssen said in a statement. “Millions of people look up to her for creative inspiration. There is no good reason for her to do business with the corrupt Angolan dictatorship and endorse the ruler’s family company.”
While Minaj has yet to respond to the Human Rights Foundation’s request, we’ve seen no signs of her pulling out of the performance. In fact, this wouldn’t be the first time big name entertainers have pocketed seven figures for performances in countries with questionable human rights records. In 2013, “American Idol” judge Jennifer Lopez was blasted for accepting $10 million to perform for Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, the president of Turkmenistan, who has long been accused of rigging elections.
Also in 2013, Mariah Carey received $1 million for trekking to Angola to perform. Interestingly, Minaj and Carey have the same manager.
