(Getty Images)
Nicki Minaj is being slammed by a human rights organization for headlining an upcoming Christmas festival in Angola. The rapper is set to perform at the Unitel Boas Festas on Saturday in the nation’s capital of Luanda.
Angola has a reputation for committing human rights violations against those who oppose Angola’s leader, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, and his reputedly oppressive government. Thor Halvorssen, head of the Human Rights Foundation (HRF), penned an open letter to Minaj, first applauding her charity work on behalf of children, before asking, “What kind of inspirational message is she sending to millions of young Angolans by performing for the dictatorship that has literally stolen their freedom and their future?”
Halvorssen wrote that “millions of people look up to [Minaj] for creative inspiration,” and noted she should have “no good reason… to do business with the corrupt Angolan dictatorship and endorse the ruler’s family company.” He further xpressed hope the rapper would “cancel her trip and instead issue a statement of solidarity with those jailed this month for opposing the dictatorship including [Angolan] rapper and hip-hop artist Luaty Beirao.”
As Gossip Cop has previously reported, the HRF got Hilary Swank to apologize in 2011 after accepting money to attend the 35th birthday of Chechnya’s bad guy president Ramzan Kadyrov. The group also slammed Jennifer Lopez in 2013 for performing at authoritarian Turkmenistan leader Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov’s birthday.
Tell Gossip Cop what you think about Minaj’s upcoming performance in Angola. Should she go through with it or cancel?
