Singer-songwriter Kehlani has spoken candidly about the professional setbacks she has faced due to her vocal support for Palestine. The multi-talented artist, known for her soulful music and activism, recently revealed that her stance on the sensitive issue has significantly lost professional opportunities.
Kehlani is one of the celebrities who spoke in solidarity with those targeted by brutal attacks during the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel, as the former fights for Gaza’s liberation from the latter.
On Monday evening (May 27), Kehlani took to Instagram to criticize fellow artists for remaining silent on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Palestine.
The “After Hours” singer was particularly outraged by the lack of commentary from highly influential figures in the music industry on the innocent lives lost across the region.
“You can’t speak?! Disgusting,” Kehlani shared in a video. They added, “It’s fk Israel. It’s fk Zionism. And it’s f**k a lot of y’all, too.”
Kehlani solidified her stance by dedicating her song ‘Next 2 U’ to Palestine. Stills from the music video depicted Kehlani and her dancers performing against the backdrop of the Palestinian flag, clad in Keffiyeh suits.
In a recent interview with the Breakfasclubam, Kehlani reflected on the industry pushback she experienced after publicly aligning herself with the Palestinian cause.
“There was absolutely no problem with my record label,” they began. “But I have experienced some pushback. I have also experienced a lot of things that were promised and set up for this rollout and album to happen—magazines and MVs—brand deals that were sad to lose. But at the end of the day, I don’t regret it.”
“I don’t regret doing something that I can go to sleep at night. I can go to sleep knowing what I learned to be as an artist; I’m aligned because I grew up fully understanding the role of art in liberation. And not to place myself in alignment with revolutionary artists, but that’s to say I understand when not to be silent.”
