Dua Lipa has released a statement addressing a full-page advertisement that ran in the New York Times on Saturday, May 22nd, accusing her and models Gigi and Bella Hadid of “anti-Semitism” over their public support for the Free Palestine Movement.
The ad, which was produced and paid for by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach’s World Values Network, featured a photo of Dua Lipa and the Hadid Sisters superimposed over Hamas rockets. “Bella, Gigi and Dua, Hamas calls for a second Holocaust. CONDEMN THEM NOW,” the headline for the advertisement reads. The lower text continues, “the three mega-influencers have vilified the Jewish state” by sharing “disgusting libel.”
here’s the bottom half of the ad with the paid by disclosure btw pic.twitter.com/8IshXjAzlu
— Matthew (@matthewduchesne) May 22, 2021
Dua Lipa has been a vocal proponent of the Free Palestine movement amid the heightened tension between Palestine and Israel. In a lengthy statement shared to Twitter, Lipa condemned the “appalling” advertisement.
“I utterly reject the false and appalling allegations that were published today in the New York Times advertisement taken out by the World Values Network,” she wrote. “This is the price you pay for defending Palestinian human rights against an Israeli government whose actions in Palestine both Human Rights Watch and the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem accuse of persecution and discrimination.”
The statement continued, “I take this stance because I believe that everyone — Jews, Muslims and Christians — have the right to live in peace as equal citizens of a state they choose. The World Values Network are shamelessly using my name to advance their ugly campaign with falsehoods and blatant misrepresentation of who I am and what I stand for. I stand in solidarity with all oppressed people and reject all forms of racism.”
Love Pop?
Get the latest Pop news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more
— DUA LIPA (@DUALIPA) May 22, 2021
Tensions between Israel and Palestine escalated since the start of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan in mid-April 2021, with clashes between police and Palestinians. A ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas came into effect on Friday, May 21st after 11 days of fighting in which over 250 were killed, the majority of them in Gaza.
