Although pressure from human rights activists led Nicki Minaj to pull out of the Saudi Arabia festival, other music stars including Future and Steve Aoki proceeded to rock the stage on July 18.
- July 20, 2019
AceShowbiz - Janet Jackson, 50 Cent, Chris Brown, and Future performed for a sell out 62,000 crowd at the Jeddah World Fest in Saudi Arabia on Thursday night (July 18).
The four acts were added to the bill 24 hours before the event, a week after pressure from human rights activists prompted Nicki Minaj to pull out of the festival.
The protesters, who were calling for all artists to boycott the event following the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, also asked DJ Steve Aoki and Liam Payne to cancel their sets, but the pop pair went ahead with performances.
Minaj told fans she researched the nation's human rights abuses after being targeted by The Human Rights Foundation bosses and decided not to play.
"While I want nothing more than to bring my show to fans in Saudi Arabia, after better educating myself on the issues, I believe it is important for me to make clear my support for the rights of women, the LGBTQ community and freedom of expression," she said.
The Human Rights Foundation president Thor Halvorssen heaped praise on Minaj for her "inspiring and thoughtful decision to reject the Saudi regime's transparent attempt at using her for a public relations stunt."
