The famed pop singer Lorde is facing a backlash following her decision to cancel her show in Tel Aviv, Israel, after numerous fans accused her of endorsing the country’s occupation of Palestine.
Shortly after announcing that she would play in Tel Aviv, as well as St. Petersburg, Russia, people hit at Lorde with ferocity on Twitter:
Lorde eventually caved to the pressure and announced that she would not be playing:
Fortunately, singling out the Jews for a boycott does not go over so well with other artists and industry executives, who have since launched their own “anti-boycott” as a response.
According to Deadline, a press release from the says members of the organization are “deeply disappointed that Lorde canceled her show in Tel Aviv after receiving pressure from the radical boycott Israel movement. Artists should never become beholden to the political views of a small but loud minority.”
The Creative Community for Peace then states that the movement to shame artists who play in Israel is a “political movement ultimately aiming to extinguish the State of Israel as the state of the Jewish people rather than a movement for human rights.”
While Lorde joins Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters as one of many artists boycotting Israel, other artists like Radiohead, Nick Cave, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, and Justin Timberlake have not caved to the pressure.
Entertainment executives have now signed an anti-boycott petition that will “continue to work for a more peaceful future for Palestinians, Israelis, and the entire region.” The most prominent names are listed below:
Jason Adelman, head of brand strategy and business development, Habana Avenue
Orly Adelson, former president of ITV Studios, America
Marty Adelstein, CEO of Tomorrow Studios
Craig Balsam, co-founder of Razor & Tie Entertainment
Richard Baskind, partner and head of music at Simons Muirhead & Burton
Aton Ben-Horin, global head of A&R a Warner Music Group
Steven Bensusan, president of Blue Note Entertainment Group
Adam Berkowitz, co-head of the television department at Creative Artists Agency (CAA)
Josh Binder, Davis Shapiro & Lewit LLP
David Byrnes, partner of Ziffren, Brittenham, LLP
Civia Caroline, president of Clic Entertainment
Josh Deutsch, chairman/CEO of Downtown Records
David Draiman, musician
Craig Emanuel, partner of Loeb & Loeb LLP
Ron Fair, record producer and former chief creative officer and executive vp of Virgin Americans
Erica Forster, director of business development at Zngine
Gary Foster, principal of Krasnoff Foster Productions
Andrew Genger, Red Light Entertainment
Gary Gersh, president of global talent at AEG Presents
Jody Gerson, chairman and CEO of Universal Music Publishing Group
Gary Ginsberg, executive vice president of corporate marketing and communications of Time Warner Inc.
Daniel Glass, president and founder of Glassnote Entertainment Group
David Glick, founder and CEO of Edge Group
Trudy Green, Trudy Green Management/HK Management
Larry Katz, entertainment attorney
Zach Katz, chief creative officer of BMG Chrysalis, North America
Amanda Kogan, WME
Rick Krim, west coast president of Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Colin Lester, CEO of JEM Artists
David Levy, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment (WME)
David Lonner, CEO of Oasis Media Group
Ben Maddahi, president of Unrestricted
Scott Packman, esquire
Donald S. Passman, partner of Gang, Tyre, Ramer, and Brown, Inc.
Dean Raise, manager at C3 Presents
David Renzer, chairman of Spirit Music Group and former chairman/CEO of Universal Music Publishing Group
Hanna Rochelle, founder and president of Lyric Culture
Rick Rosen, head of the television department at William Morris Endeavor Entertainment (WME)
Steve Schnur, worldwide executive and music president of Electronic Arts
Sam Schwartz, co-principal of Gorfaine/Schwartz Agency
Ben Silverman, chairman and co-chief executive officer of Propagate Content
Ralph Simon, chairman & chief executive officer of Mobilium Global Limited
Jeff Sosnow, SVP artist and reportoire at Warner Music Group
Gary Stiffelman, partner of Greenberg Traurig LLP
Aaron Symonds, film composer
Traci Szymanski, president of Co-Star Entertainment/Isrealife Media Group
Adam Taylor, president of APM Music.
Sharon Tal Yguado, head of event series at Amazon