Cornell University dropped a popular R&B singer from its annual campus concert over what the school’s president said were antisemitic and anti-Israel sentiments she had espoused.
The singer, Kehlani, has been an outspoken opponent of Israel’s war in Gaza, speaking out at concerts and on social media. In a 2024 music video for the song “Next 2 U,” Kehlani danced in a jacket adorned with kaffiyehs as dancers waved Palestinian flags in the background. During the video’s introduction, the phrase “Long Live the Intifada” appeared against a dark background.
Furor over the singer’s selection spread across Cornell’s campus and beyond after the school announced the lineup for the concert, an annual celebration called Slope Day that follows the last day of classes. The Ivy League university is among dozens being investigated by the White House over allegations of antisemitism, part of the Trump administration’s targeting of universities. Earlier this month, the White House froze $1 billion in funding for Cornell.
Cornell’s president, Michael I. Kotlikoff, wrote in an email on Wednesday that “although it was not the intention, the selection of Kehlani as this year’s headliner has injected division and discord” into the event.
“In the days since Kehlani was announced, I have heard grave concerns from our community that many are angry, hurt and confused that Slope Day would feature a performer who has espoused antisemitic, anti-Israel sentiments in performances, videos and on social media,” he wrote.
The protests over the war in Gaza have exposed broad disagreement about when criticism of Israel veers into antisemitic behavior. To some, the word “intifada,” which translates into rebellion or uprising, implies a call for violence against Israelis and Jews. But some pro-Palestinian demonstrators who use the term in chants regard it as a cry for liberation and freedom from oppression.
Mr. Kotlikoff said that his decision had come after meeting with members of the student board that planned the concert. The board members agreed that their choice had “compromised what is meant to be an inclusive event,” Mr. Kotlikoff said.
A representative for Kehlani did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In an interview last year on the Breakfast Club podcast, Kehlani, who uses the pronouns she and they, said that they had “experienced a lot of pushback” and “a lot of loss” in response to their statements and social media posts about Gaza.
The move to rescind Kehlani’s invitation was an apparent reversal by Mr. Kotlikoff, who told students in a meeting last week that it was too late to find a replacement for the May 7 concert, according to the student newspaper, The Cornell Daily Sun. The administration had not been aware of the singer’s stances, he said.
Muna Mohamed, a senior who is the history co-chair of Black Students United at Cornell, was disappointed by the decision. She said that, as a queer person of color, she had been excited by what Kehlani’s participation in Slope Day represented.
“I was ecstatic,” she said. And then, “to see it kind of torn from us so quickly, it was kind of like, oh, our happiness never really mattered in the long run.”
Cornellians for Israel, a student group, had called on the school to replace Kehlani as the headliner. In an Instagram post last week, the group wrote that choosing Kehlani to perform at an event geared toward the student body “effectively communicates that Israeli, Jewish and Zionist students are not a welcome part of that community.”
The group also circulated a petition and started a GoFundMe drive that had raised more than $28,500 by Wednesday to pay for a new performer.
On Tuesday, Senator Rick Scott of Florida, a Republican, weighed in on social media, writing that the university “is making it clear where it stands” by including Kehlani in the concert program.
Amanda Silberstein, a member of Cornellians for Israel’s board and a junior, said she was relieved by the university’s decision. Ms. Silberstein said that Kehlani was welcome to hold different opinions, but she questioned why the singer had been invited at all.
“This was never about politics,” Ms. Silberstein said. “It was about the hate and the vitriol and the vile disgust that she expressed with a significant portion of the student population who was also funding her performance.”
Before the first day of classes last fall, pro-Palestinian demonstrators broke a glass door and spray-painted campus buildings with phrases, including “Israel bombs, Cornell pays.” A Cornell Ph.D. student who is a Gambian-British citizen and who participated in demonstrations left the country this year after facing possible deportation, one of several college students the Trump administration has targeted.
Last year, Mr. Kotlikoff faced backlash after the school invited another controversial guest from the opposite side of the political spectrum: Ann Coulter, a conservative commentator. At the time, Mr. Kotlikoff defended the decision as part of a commitment to freedom of speech and diversity of opinion.
Alyce McFadden is a reporter covering New York City and a member of the 2024-25 Times Fellowship class, a program for journalists early in their careers.
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