Usher Will Donate Qaddafi Money to Charity
Usher is the latest artist to donate to charity the money he made from performing for the family of Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi. The singer, who appeared with Beyoncé at a New Year’s Eve event in St. Barts hosted by Qaddafi’s song Mutassim in 2009, has pledged to donate his earnings from the show to human rights organizations such as Amnesty International.
Mariah Carey, Beyoncé and Nelly Furtado have already donated the money they made from these gigs to charity following criticism in the media after these private events became public knowledge.
Like Beyoncé and Carey, Usher claims that he was not aware that the party was bankrolled by the Qaddafi family. This could be a disingenuous claim, though. Music mogul Russell Simmons tweeted from the event and referred to it a “khadafy party,” so it’s unlikely that the host was a secret to those in attendance.
Usher to donate Gaddafi concert fee to charity [Guardian]