Singer Kehlani was originally set to headline Cornell University’s 2025 Slope Day, an annual celebration that marks the end of the academic year.
But weeks before the show, a campaign led by student activists successfully pressured the administration to cancel her appearance. The campaign effort mobilized thousands and brought national attention to the fallout between campus politics, pro-Israel advocacy, and freedom of expression.
At the center of the effort was Netanel Shapira, a senior and president of Cornellians for Israel. According to an interview with Fox News Digital, ooShapira said Kehlani’s past public comments about Israel weren’t just political but “vehemently against Israelis, Jewish people. She spews hate.”
One of Kehlani’s more widely circulated posts read, “it’s f— Israel from the top of my lungs… DISMANTLE ISRAEL. ERADICATE ZIONISM.”
Calling her rhetoric unacceptable, Shapira and his group sprang into action, launching a petition that ultimately garnered over 5,000 signatures and raising more than $28,000 to show the depth of student opposition.
What started as a student-led protest quickly gained traction among Jewish student organizations across campus and eventually reached Cornell’s administration.
The defining moment came during a townhall hosted by Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff, who directly asked a room full of Jewish students whether they would still attend Slope Day with Kehlani as the performer. Nearly everyone in the room raised their hand to say they would not—a moment that Shapira said visibly shifted the university’s perspective.
“I could tell on his face, in that moment, that he realized this administration messed up,” Shapira told Fox News Digital.
In a public statement released later, President Kotlikoff acknowledged that Kehlani’s booking had “injected division and discord into Slope Day,” and formally rescinded her invitation, vowing a new headliner would be announced soon.
The money raised for the campaign will now go toward future pro-Israel speakers and events on campus, and most donors chose not to request refunds.
“We’re super grateful to the whole community,” Shapira added. “Almost everyone said, keep the money. You guys did an amazing job.”
Kehlani, who has faced multiple cancellations in the past year, responded to the Cornell incident on Instagram, stating:
“I am not antisemitic… If you want to cancel me from opportunity, stand on it being because of your zionism. Don’t make it anti-Jew.”
Meanwhile, Kehlani has responded to the anti-Semitic claims on Instagram, saying:
“I am being asked and called to clarify and make a statement yet again, for the millionth time, that I am not antisemitic nor anti-Jew. I am anti-genocide, I am anti the actions of the Israeli government, I am anti an extermination of an entire people, I am anti the bombing of innocent children, men, women — that’s what I’m anti.”
