Beyonce, Mariah Carey, Usher Urged to Return Millions to Qaddafi
Credit: Theo Wargo/WireImage.com; Jemal Countess/Getty Images; ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images
Music industry insiders want Mariah Carey, Beyonce and Usher to open up their wallets!
RollingStone.com reports that the trio of Grammy winners are being urged to give back the millions of dollars they earned performing for the family members of Muammar Qaddafi. The Obama Administration has called for the Libyan dictator -- who has ruled for 40 years -- to step down after an uprising against him left 1,000 Libyans dead.
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Carey banked $1 million for a lavish 2008 New Year's Eve bash in St. Barts, where she performed for Qaddafi's son, Muatassim, Libya's national-security adviser. Beyonce, 29, and Usher, 32, earned undisclosed sums for performing on the same Caribbean island in 2009.
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"If it were me, it would go to charity," Buck Williams, agent for R.E.M. tells Rolling Stone of the money they earned. Seconded David T. Viecelli, agent for Arcade Fire, "Hopefully donate it to a charity that somehow assists some of the people who have suffered at the hands of that regime."
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Already listening to the plea? Nelly Furtado, 32, who tweeted that she plans to donate the money she pocketed.
"In 2007, I received 1million$ from the Qaddafi clan to perform a 45 min. Show for guests at a hotel in Italy," she wrote. "I am going to donate the $."
Tell Us What You Think
15i think it is mess up that they had to sing for the money and give it back.why not just ask them to sing for nothing.
This is what the artist should tell the idiots that want them to return the money they worked for! When the US oil companies that do business in Libya return their money then, we will return ours!
look. as a rapper my self I know most (not all) of the show that are being explained were not set up by those artist. blaming them is premature and just plain dumb. Promoter, Manager, Booking agents, and others I don't have time to name are the ones to ask, (how'd it happen) most artist have no clue who pay's them. Those perfomers who took part didn't even know who was in the aduance. I'll stop cause some of you are only talking out of ignorance
money is money i mean if we stopped doing deals with people who are bad we would be cut off from the rest of the world (thats even implying everything we do is "good") and just because he is a bad man that has nothing to do with the artists so what everyone is saying is that only perform for certain audiances then you keep the money thast BULL everyone just need to keep the money they worked hard for
Big shame that Mariah Carey, Beyonce and Usher are all ignorant. They need to stop and listen to the news and get more education on world affairs. Did anyone of you know who Ghadafi/Qaddafi's are? No because you are too ignorant. I would rather have smarts about what is going on in the world than be ignorant on whom I am entertaining for millions! I am a Libyan and you owe our country every penny of our money! Shame on all of you. There are people starving in this world and you are entertaining for $1 million for 2 hours? Sick!
However, how conscientious can we expect these people to be?? Most of the educated world recognizes the invasion of Iraq as illegal? Are we going to call all those bands and artisits out who sang at the military bases? The whole western world has been perfectly happy with Qaddafi and his reign of supression for the last 40 years. In fact, his and most of the other dictatorships in the area have been directly supported, often literally with cash by the Western World. If itâ??s taken the best and brightest of western leadership until now to recognise a problem, I say we go easy on Beyoncé and 50.
So American money isn't blood/oil and/or drug money??? smh LOL That is the silliest mess that I have ever heard. Most musicians give back anyways!!! The American media loves to talk with a forked tongue about other leaders vs our own leaders and agenda.
So American money isn't blood/oil and/or drug money??? smh LOL That is the silliest mess that I have ever heard. Most musicians give back anyways!!! The American media loves to talk with a forked tongue about other leaders vs our own leaders and agenda.
I'd keep the money. I did a job. I dont care who I work for...they have to support themselves and their families.......Its like asking Obama to return all the money his aunt collected while here. and what makes it worse THAT WAS OUR MONEY cause she lived in public housing and received a disability check paid by TAXPAYERS
I agree COMPLETELY Delores! They PERFORMED for the people who HIRED them to do the JOB of performing and they DESERVE their paycheck! NO matter what that man or his family did wrong they HIRED someone to perform, the person DID THEIR JOB as hired and SHOULD BE PAID! How dare ANYONE ask them to return money OWED TO THEM for doing their job! That is DISGUSTING!!!!!! SHAMEFUL BEHAVIOR To do such a thing! No matter how much they EARNED NOONE should EVER be asked to return money that they WORKED hard for (yes performing IS a hard job and does take lots of work).
^not meant to say Masaffi entire family hands and staff were deep in the cookie jar paying for services, solutions, travel and incidentals during their reign...with billions of dollars. All of a sudden media wants to make these 4 celebrities the focal point to give back money...sounds like an harassment and something in the coffee ain't mixed right with this article. What about all of those billions that were spent lavishly. I can't wrap my head around the audacity that someone would write this and believe that the artist should give back their wages for a service. The trio are performers and that is what you do when you perform. An individual has a right to wages for their services. You get a PAYCHECK for services rendered.
Suck rocks music industry...to ask folks to work for free is bull. Let me get this straight after the trio worked and did their job..they should return their money? Can I return my food after I ate it? Can I take back an empty bottle of juice after I drank it? In another words if a person works 40 hours and employer can ask them to return their paychecks? If the magazine company you wrote this article for ask you to give your paycheck to charity, would you do it or would you be pissed off that your expected to work for free? This is an ridiculous article and I don't agree with it. I don't agree with this...we should be having a conversation about these artist wages. Libya purchased a lot of items and services from folks....I don't see anyone demanding those folks for their money back to donated to charity?
thanks for bringing this to light, no need to waste my money on this group of greedy pigs!
Made a deal with the devil huh? That's a shame.
I find it absolutely abhorrent that they performed for that waste of skin and his band of meat puppets in the first place. Greed supersedes morality.