Canadian pop singer Nelly Furtado’s Twitter admission that she performed for members of embattled Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi’s family puts her on a select but growing list of top-flight entertainers who had done so. “In 2007, I received 1million$ from the Gaddafi clan to perform a 45 minutes show for guests at a hotel in Italy,” read a tweet on Furtado’s official account.
“I am going to donate the $.” Between U.S diplomatic cables posted on WikiLeaks and artists’ own admissions, no less than five performers have entertained the Gaddafis at a host of international locales. The Caribbean island of St. Barts was the site for a New Year’s Eve party thrown by Mutassim Gaddafi, Libya’s national security adviser and one of the deceased dictator’s sons, in 2009. R&B stars Beyonce and Usher were the entertainment in what the cables called a $1 million personal concert.
The same son on the same island a year earlier paid another $1 million to hear Mariah Carey sing, the cables said. She sang four songs. In 2006, the Gaddafis brought pop star Lionel Richie to Libya to perform. The concert marked the 20th anniversary of a US raid on the North African country.
