Last night Mariah Carey took to the stage in Saudi Arabi together with DJ Tiesto, Sean Paul and Yemen born singer, Balqees Faithi, for a show that her publicists insist was to help towards gender desegregation in the kingdom.
She does not need the money, she is arguably one of the most well-known celebrities on the planet, so why did she go ahead despite desperate pleas from women’s rights activists including Saudi political refugee Omaima al-Najar?
Omaima was quoted as saying, “The Saudi government is using entertainment to distract the people from human rights abuses because it can sense the anger among the public.” Omaima al-Najjar, co-founded the organisation WARSA – Women for Rights in Saudi Arabia. Under this banner, she launched a petition calling for Mariah to rather boycott the country, saying that they were focusing their attention on her as she has the power to stand for women … as an artist and as a female”.
The activists also pleaded with her to take notice of their fellow women's rights campaigners who had been imprisoned in recent months, going on to suggest that she should have at least made her performance in the country conditional on the release of these women.
When she took to the stage last night at the King Abdullah Economic City, she became the highest profile singer to perform in the kingdom since the easing of restrictions on entertainment. "I'm so happy to see you guys all together tonight," the superstar told the exuberant crowd. For many, it was their first concert experience.
Whether or not her performance in the kingdom is going to tarnish her image remains to be seen, but, whichever way the wind may blow for Mariah Carey, there's no doubt her 'bottom line' will be just fine. Take a look at some of the footage of her opening number posted by Arab News on Twitter.
#LIVE: @MariahCarey kicking off her first performance in #SaudiArabia with her hit song aptly titled "I Like That" - the crowd certainly seemed to.https://t.co/F7b86WeTkd pic.twitter.com/Lh4ZdA9hyC
— Arab News (@arabnews) January 31, 2019
