Some lawmakers trying to get Kehlani's Central Park SummerStage concert reinstated
A group of New York City Councilmembers are fighting a decision to cancel a free Kehlani concert in Central Park.
The lawmakers argue City Hall is trying to hamper free speech. The Adams administration, however, is holding firm.
The concert was part of the city's SummerStage concert series, which brings free concerts to New Yorkers in parks across the city. The R&B singer was supposed to headline a Pride Month benefit show in Central Park.
"This is clear retaliation for political dissent," City Councilmber Tiffany Cabán said.
Cabán has co-signed a letter with 12 others urging the City Parks Foundation, the nonprofit which hosts the series, to "reverse the cancellation."
The concert was dropped after First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro wrote the City Parks Foundation expressing concern about security around the show.
"We have zero tolerance for antisemitism and zero tolerance for creating security concerns and the use of public facilities," Mastro told CBS News New York's Marcia Kramer.
Mastro pointed to the the decision by Cornell University last month to drop the singer from their lineup for what they called "antisemitic, anti-Israel sentiments." Her music video "Next 2 U," opens with the phrase "long live the intifada" and features dancers waving Palestinian flags.
Intifada, an Arabic word for "uprising" or "resistance," is seen by some as a call for violence against Jews.
"For the millionth time, that I am not antisemitic nor anti-Jew," Kehlani said in a video, also posted on Instagram. "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."
Cabán argues the cancellation is an example of broader threats to free speech, but critics say taxpayer money should not fund the controversial artist.
"If the concert were to be reinstated, it would send a message to New Yorkers that their concerns and the fact that their identities have been attacked by this artist are being ignored," American Jewish Committee New York director Josh Kramer said.
"It is a very scary and dangerous thing to allow and have a mayor and his administration use their power to threaten an organization out of existence simply because they disagree with the views of an artist," Cabán said.
