Beyonce, Mariah Carey and Usher pocketed millions in blood money from the Qaddafi family to perform at lavishly corrupt private parties on the Caribbean island of St. Barts.
According to a recent report in the New York Times, Mariah Carey was paid $1 million in 2009 to sing just four songs for Gaddafi's son Seif. One year later Usher and Beyonce received an equally large sum to sing at a New Year's party thrown by the family.
The Qaddafi's have ransacked the Libyan treasury, making off with billions of dollars in oil money, while cracking down against any Libyan who speaks out against their corruption and brutality. Former music industry executive Howie Klein put it best: "For very, very wealthy American and British pop stars to take part in this kind of thing makes me want to puke."
If Beyonce, Mariah Carey and Usher have any sense of justice or decency, they should reject the Qaddafi payment and put the dirty money to work in service of a greater good.
There is no question: accepting stolen money from murderous dictators is morally repugnant. Keeping it after the Qaddafi's engage in the slaughter of democracy protesters is downright unconscionable.
Retweet this Twitter petition to pressure Beyonce, Maria Carey and Usher to put their ill-gotten gains in service of a greater cause: to help relieve the suffering of the people of Libya.
A number of organizations are working to protect democracy movements across the Middle East. They could help save hundreds of lives with the sort of money that's now sitting in the bank accounts of these three celebrities. (I have listed a few possible recipients below).
Earlier today, pop singer Nelly Furtado Tweeted that she would be contributing to charity the $1 million she received from the Qaddafi family for a private performance in Italy.
To salvage their reputations and make good on a horrible mistake, Beyonce, Maria Carey and Usher should do the same and donate Qaddafi's dirty cash to these well deserving institutions or others.
Updated by Timothy Karr at Mon Feb 28, 2011, 06:39:25 PM
Later on Monday, Atlantic Wire and Rolling Stone quoted R.E.M. agent Buck Williams urging the singers to give Qaddafi's payment to charity.
Arcade Fire agent David T. Viecelli added, "Hopefully donate it to a charity that somehow assists some of the people who have suffered at the hands of that regime."
Denis Afra, the agent for Metallica, Billy Joel, and Rod Stewart, gave a bleak view of musicians who get paid for these types of private performances: "I don't think most artists go into [performing at a party like this] with that kind of in-depth focus, [of] how each country is governed and what goes on inside each country," he says. "Not every artist is a humanitarian. In more cases than not, for people, greed rules."
Yep.