Mariah Carey Sings Her Hits In Concert In Saudi Arabia & Collects Her Big Fat Check Despite Backlash Of Feminist Activists: Should She Have Cancelled?
Not everything is worth the money. Especially when you don’t desperately need it. Tell this to Mariah Carey, who decided to participate yesterday, despite the multiple calls by activists who are fighting for women’s rights in Saudi Arabia to boycott it, at the concert that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salma authorized to be held during the week of the Saudi International golf tournament. Besides Mariah Carey, DJ Tiesto and Sean Paul also performed at this event. But who really cares about these two, the headliner of the bill and the artist with the biggest international repercussion was Mariah Carey. Last night, the “Shake It Off” diva walked on stage to perform a bunch of her most popular songs almost entirely covered up. And we’re talking about Mariah freaking Carey, who loves (rightfully so) to show body and cleavage in every performance. But of course she had to comply with the strict dress code for women imposed by Saudi Arabia government, a regime that recently ordered the assassination of the Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Turkey beheading him and torturing him. But Mariah didn’t cancel and even said she felt proud of performing in the country.
This is what her publicist had to tell the international press:
“When presented with the offer to perform for an international and mixed gender audience in Saudi Arabia, Mariah accepted the opportunity as a positive step towards the dissolution of gender segregation. As the first female international artist to perform in Saudi Arabia, Mariah recognises the cultural significance of this event and will continue to support global efforts towards equality for all. Mariah looks forward to bringing inspiration and encouragement to all audiences.”
Come on. Even though it’s true men and women were allowed to attend this concert, this was just a strategy by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salma to polish the country’s image towards the international community whereas the government keeps denigrate women living there. Did Mariah truly believe in Saudi Arabia’s good intentions? I thought she was smarter. But oh well, she already performed, probably received a 1 million dollars check, and she already helped the Saudi government in their “polishing” plans and surely there will be now more Western artists who will go to Saudi Arabia to perform because “if Mariah did it…”.
VIDEO