Jennifer Lopez Cancels Cyprus Show

Earlier this month, Jennifer Lopez agreed to perform at a hotel in the north of Cyrus on July 24, the singer’s own birthday. The announcement sparked outrage in the ethnically divided country, with Greek Cypriots (residents of the country’s Greek-held south) beginning an online campaign to push for cancellation.

Greek Cypriots turned to Facebook, creating a page that demanded Lopez cancel her show. By July 7, the page had just over 14,000 members. They were in the vast majority of Greeks, with the rate of increase up by about 2,000 per day since its launch the previous week. Organizers of the event claimed the show would go on, but that appears to no longer be true.

The Christian Science Monitor reports that Lopez has canceled the show in the wake of increasing protests. Greek Cypriots rejoiced, vehemently praising the singer for acting as a champion for human rights, while Turkish Cypriots denounced the decision.

Greek Cypriots viewed Lopez's July 24 appearance as a means of legitimizing the Mediterranean island's violent division. Cyprus was split into a Greek speaking south and a Turkish speaking north in 1974 when Turkey invaded, following a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Greek Cypriots saw the concert as an insult to the people forced to flee from northern Cyprus during the Turkish invasion, says The Hollywood Reporter.

Attempts by the Associated Press to contact Lopez's publicist and confirm details of the New York-born star's appearance were unanswered, but a statement on the singer and actress' official website on Thursday said her advisers decided against her appearance after "a full review of the relevant circumstances in Cyprus."