Lorde has canceled her June 2018 concert in Tel Aviv, Israel, less than a week after its announcement. Her decision comes in the wake of pressure from supporters of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement. Lorde reportedly issued a statement, saying, “i pride myself on being an informed young citizen, and i have done a lot of reading and sought a lot of opinions before deciding to book a show in tel aviv, but i’m not proud to admit i didn’t make the right call on this one” (via The Hollywood Reporter). See her full statement below. Pitchfork has reached out to her representatives for comment.
Last Wednesday, Lorde tweeted that she was “considering all options” regarding the concert, in response to an article in New Zealand’s The Spinoff urging her to “join the artistic boycott of Israel.” She’s not the first artist to receive blowback for planning concerts in Israel. Nick Cave and Radiohead both spoke out about their decisions to perform there.
Here is @Lorde‘s statement on the cancellation of her Tel Aviv show, via Israeli PR for the concert. pic.twitter.com/Ph0uGHRjCV
— Amy Spiro (@AmySpiro) December 24, 2017