Lana Del Rey has cancelled her show at an Israeli music festival after receiving backlash from Palestinian boycott activists.

Del Rey was slated to headline the annual Meteor Festival in northern Israel next week. However, the star received backlash from the BDS (Boycott, Development, and Sanctions) movement. BDS has been urging artists to cancel concerts in Israel in protest of the country’s treatment of Palestine. Earlier this month, Del Rey noted that her shows weren’t meant to be political.

“I would like to remind you that performing in Tel Aviv is not a political statement or a commitment to the politics there just as singing here in California doesn’t mean my views are in alignment with my current government’s opinions or sometimes inhuman actions. Or that I condone my own president who openly mocks disabled people at rallies,” she said.

This past Friday however, she made the decision to cancel her performance until she can visit both Israel and Palestine.

“It’s important for me to perform in both Palestine and Israel and treat all my fans equally,” she said in a note posted on social media. “Unfortunately it hasn’t been possible to line up both visits with such short notice and therefore I’m postponing my appearance at the Meteor Festival until a time when I can schedule visits for both my Israeli and Palestinian fans, as well as hopefully other countries in the region.”

While some support her decision to cancel the show – including BDS supporters like Roger Waters, Brian Eno, Kathleen Hanna, Mark Ruffalo, and Angela Davis – others were not happy with the outcome. Her Israeli fans shamed the singer on Twitter.

Shlohmo has also cancelled his appearance at the festival. These cancellations follow Lorde’s decision to cancel a gig in Tel Aviv earlier this year. Artists like Nick Cave and Radiohead, on the other hand, have resisted the pressure from BDS activists to cancel shows.

vegas.com advertisement