Nicki Minaj is set to headline Unitel Boas Festas, a Christmas concert to be held at corruption-stricken Angola. Once news broke out about this gig, the female rapper is now getting a lot of flak from human rights activists from all over the world since the nation has been known for its notorious violations of human rights.
Thor Halvorssen of the Human Rights Foundation wrote an open letter to Nicki saying "what kind of inspirational message is she sending to millions of young Angolans by performing for the dictatorship that has literally stolen their freedom and their future?"
Halvorssen even used the dirty money card and said in the same letter, "the payment you are receiving from your Angolan sponsors is the result of government corruption and human rights violations."
The open letter also says that why would a role model work with a human rights violator? A lot of activists are now urging Nicki to just cancel the gig all together. Other than cancelling, they hope that she would express her support and solidarity to those who are affected by his dictatorship and those whose rights have been violated under the regime. This request is similar to what Hilary Swank did back in 2011, where she apologized for accepting money from a corrupt official from Chechnya.
There are still no updates regarding her cancellation on the event this Saturday, and looks like she's definitely pushing through with it despite the criticism. The 'Feelin' Myself' rapper posted on Instagram just yesterday about the said event with the caption, "ANGOLA! R u ready for the show?!???! Can't wait to see u guys! Get your tickets here!" Then she proceeded by tweeting "Every tongue that rises up against me in judgement shall be condemned." Seems like the outspoken artist doesn't care about what human rights advocates think about her.
