Should Entertainers who were Paid by the Gadhafi Family Give the Money to Charity? - Orijin Culture

Canadian recording artist Nelly Furtado, recently revealed via twitter that she was paid $1 million for a 45 minutes performance by the Gadhafi family in 2007 and indicated that the money will be donated to charity.

Other internationally renowned entertainers including Lionel Richie, power couple Jay-Z and Beyonce, Mariah Carey and Usher have also received large sums of money, usually $1 million and above, to perform for the Gadhafi family.

With growing public pressure to donate the money, singer beyonce recently released a statement on the issue:

“All monies paid to Beyoncé for her performance at a private party at Nikki Beach St. Barts on New Year’s Eve 2009, including the commissions paid to her booking agency, were donated to the earthquake relief efforts in Haiti, over a year ago,” the statement read. “Once it became known that the third party promoter was linked to the Qaddafi family, the decision was made to put that payment to a good cause.”

With the currently state of affairs in Libya, many have been calling on these entertainers to show some responsibility by following in the footsteps of Nelly Furtado by donating the money to a fund dedicated to providing relief to the Libyan people. They argue that as public figures, celebrities have a responsibility to ensuring peace and liberation for all.

So far, no other celebrity has caved into the pressure.