Mariah Carey accused of Accepting “Dictator Cash”
Mariah Carey is drawing fire from the Human Rights Foundation following her recent performance at an Angolan Red Cross event for accepting “dictator cash.”
The evening was sponsored by the mobile phone company Unitel, an enterprise owned by the daughter of Angola’s president, José Eduardo dos Santos. According to the HRF, dos Santos is “one of Africa’s chief human rights violators and most corrupt tyrants,” having ordered the executions of many who have protested his rule.
According to the HRF, Carey’s total earnings from the event exceeded a million, and reminded readers of the pop star’s not-so-long-ago performance for another dictator:
“Mariah Carey can’t seem to get enough dictator cash, reportedly more than $1 million this time. Just five years ago she performed for the family of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Now, she goes from private performances to public displays of support and credibility for one of Africa’s chief human rights violators and most corrupt tyrants,” said HRF president Thor Halvorssen.
While Carey apologized soon after the Gadhafi performance, she has yet to respond to these recent accusations. However, her agent Jermaine Dupri told the New York Post that if President Obama can congratulate dos Santos for his many years in office, Carey has nothing to apologize for.
Carey was in Nigeria few weeks ago to perform at a grand reception of a former MD of one of Nigerian banks. Access Bank paid over one million dollars for Carey for her performance at the event. Access bank had laid off over 200 of its staff in a controversial way.
