Jennifer Lopez’ songs don’t usually bring a lot of controversy. J-Lo’s recent performance dedicated to the president of Turkmenistan is the exception, however.
On Sunday, J-lo sang “Happy Birthday” to Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, the sitting president of Turkmenistan...a country many have not even heard of. The singer’s performance was sound, however, it was who the song was directed towards that is drawing scrutiny.
Turkmenistan has some of the worse human rights’ violations on record. Watchdog groups like the Human Rights Watch has labeled the country “among the most repressive in the world.”
Yikes! The Human Rights Watch issued a public statement on their website, concerning the corrupt country:
"The country is virtually closed to independent scrutiny. Media and religious freedoms are subject to draconian restrictions, and human rights defenders and other activists face the constant threat of government reprisal. The authorities continue to use imprisonment as a tool for political retaliation and to restrict peoples' right to travel freely.”
Lopez, who is now 43-years-old claimed she didn’t know any better, but many critics find that difficult to swallow. Mrs. Lopez’ publicist was on full defense mode Monday morning.
Her publicist insists that the event was a corporate gig, paid for by the China National Petroleum Corp. She went on to state that, "Had there been knowledge of human rights issues any kind, Jennifer would not have attended."
Mrs. Lopez, allegedly, had no plans to address the embattled president. However, moments before she took the stage, she was informed that it was his birthday and was asked to perform the traditional b-day jam.
She isn’t the first celebrity to unwittingly perform before a tyrannical leader. Just last year, Hilary Swank had to apologize for a similar misstep. The actress attended a birthday party for Ramzan Kadyrov, who has been known to torture and kill his opposition.
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