Is Stevie Wonder gaining superstar supporters? According to a new report by American Urban Radio Networks' April Ryan, the 63-year-old singer has enlisted the likes of Jay Z, Madonna and other stars in joining his boycott of performing in Florida until their Stand Your Ground Law is changed.
Ryan credited "a source close to the Stevie Wonder camp" as confirming that Jay Z, Madonna, Usher, Rihanna, Alicia Key, Kanye West, Justin Timberlake and other artists are canceling concerts in Florida.
Following George Zimmerman's controversial not guilty verdict in the 2012 death of 17 year old Trayvon Martin, Wonder announced on July 14 at his concert in Quebec City, "I decided today that until the Stand Your Ground law is abolished in Florida, I will never perform there again."
"As a matter of fact, wherever I find that law exists, I will not perform in that state or in that part of the world," he added. "The truth is that — for those of you who've lost in the battle for justice, wherever that fits in any part of the world — we can't bring them back. What we can do is we can let our voices be heard. And we can vote in our various countries throughout the world for change and equality for everybody. That's what I know we can do."
On July 20, Jay Z and his wife Beyonce attended a "Justice for Trayvon" rally in NYC. Rev. Al Sharpton tweeted a photo of himself posing with the star couple. "Beyonce and Jay Z with Sybrina Fulton & me at the #100CityTrayvon vigil," he captioned the snapshot.
During his speech at the vigil, Sharpton told the crowd, "Jay Z and Beyonce said they didn't want to speak and they didn't come for a photo op. Beyonce put a beautiful message up on Instagram. Let me tell you, that before a lot of you were down, Jay Z always supported us. Jay Z told me, 'I'm a father. Beyonce is a mother.' We all feel the pain and apprehension — the laws must protect everybody, or it doesn't protect anybody. We do not come from hate, we come from love of children."
