Jennifer Lopez sang “Happy Birthday” for Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow in his home country Saturday night. The singer is now apologizing after the performance sparked controversy.
Berdimuhamedow has numerous human rights violations; Lopez was criticized by the non-profit Human Rights Foundation for performing for the Turkmenistan President.
E!news reports that Lopez was part of a concert sponsored by "China National Petroleum Corporation that was presented to their local executives in Turkmenistan. [And] was not a government sponsored event or political in nature.” According to Lopez’s statement, "The event was vetted by her representatives, had there been knowledge of human rights issues of any kind, Jennifer would not have attended."
The request for the “Happy Birthday” was a last minute request from the China National Petroleum Corporation. Lopez is just the latest celebrity to perform for a country leader accused of human right violations. CBSnews reported that in 2011, Hilary Swank attended a birthday party for Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who is accused of torture and killings.
Photo courtesy Jennifer lopez twitter