Mariah Carey shakes off boycott calls for her Saudi concert
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Mariah Carey, one of the world’s most celebrated artists, is performing in Saudi Arabia on Thursday for the first time, but there’s a growing chorus of Saudi women calling on her to cancel the concert to show support for detained women’s rights activists.
Carey is the highest-profile star to perform in the kingdom since it began loosening decades of restrictions on entertainment, music and fun as part of a push by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to overhaul the economy and transform society.
But activists say her concert is an attempt by the government to polish its image after the Oct. 2 killing of Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.
It’s a dilemma that other celebrities could face as they ink multimillion dollar deals to perform in Saudi Arabia. The kingdom’s General Entertainment Authority has promised a roster of major performances and sports exhibitions by the world’s biggest names.