Dua Lipa denied the rumors she’s heading to Qatar to perform for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
“There is currently a lot of speculation that I will be performing at the opening ceremony of the World Cup in Qatar,” she wrote on her Instagram Story. The singer added, “I will not be performing and nor have I ever been involved in any negotiations to perform.”
Dua noted she will be cheering England’s soccer team “from afar” and added, “I look forward to visiting Qatar when it has fulfilled all the human rights pledges it made when it won the right to host the World Cup.”
Dua isn’t the only artist condemning Qatar. Sir Rod Stewart revealed in an interview with The Guardian that he was “offered a lot of money, over $1 million, to play there.”
“I turned it down,” he added, noting it “was not right to go.”
Critics have slammed Qatar for its alleged injustices, mainly for its labor laws and persecuting members of the LGBTQ+ community. Reports have surfaced of forced labor of migrant workers and the conditions they must work under, which activists say have resulted in thousands of alleged deaths.
This has led to soccer fans calling for a boycott of the forthcoming World Cup.
Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
