25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Ivy League university cancels Oakland singer's concert due to ‘antisemitic, anti-Israel sentiments'
Cornell University has canceled Kehlani 's upcoming campus performance due to her stance on the war in Gaza.
The Oakland R&B singer was scheduled to perform at the Ivy League's end-of-school-year Slope Day celebration on May 7. But Michael Kotlikoff, the school's president, posted a letter online 'rescinding Kehlani's invitation' due to her political opinions.
'I have heard grave concerns from our community that many are angry, hurt, and confused that Slope Day would feature a performer who has espoused antisemitic, anti-Israel sentiments in performances, videos, and on social media,' the letter, shared on Wednesday, April 23, reads. 'While any artist has the right in our country to express hateful views, Slope Day is about uniting our community, not dividing it.'
Kehlani, an Oakland School for the Arts alum, has long spoken in opposition of Israel's war in Gaza. In the music video for her 2024 song 'Next 2 U,' she danced in front of Palestinian flags wearing a jacket emblazoned with keffiyehs, a traditional Arabic scarf often associated with Palestinian identity.
The singer has also used her social media on multiple occasions to express outrage at the violence occurring on the Gaza Strip and frustration with other celebrities that are staying silent on the topic.
She noted that she has 'experienced a lot of pushback' and 'loss' due to such statements during an interview on 'The Breakfast Club' podcast last year, but has continued to publicly share her opinions.
In his letter, Kotlikoff went on to explain that after speaking with students and the Slope Day Programming Board, he came to the conclusion that selecting Kehlani as a performer 'compromised what is meant to be an inclusive event.'
'Although it was not the intention, the selection of Kehlani as this year's headliner has injected division and discord into Slope Day,' he wrote.
Indeed, booking Kehlani was controversial among students from the moment it was announced. It particularly sparked outrage among the school's Jewish community, which makes up 20.1% of the undergraduate population and 4.9% of the graduate population, according to Cornell Hillel, a campus hub for Jewish students.
One group, Cornellians for Israel, started a GoFundMe campaign that has raised more than $28,000 as of Thursday, April 24, to help pay for a new performer.
Kotlikoff's decision to nix Kehlani from the event lineup comes shortly after he told students that it was 'too late' to find a replacement performer, according to the student newspaper, The Cornell Daily Sun.
He said in the letter that students can 'expect a new lineup for a great 2025 Slope Day to be announced shortly.'
