HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

Dua Lipa Shuts Down Rumors of a World Cup Performance in Qatar

The singer said she was looking forward to visiting Qatar “when it has fulfilled all the human rights pledges it made when it won the right to host the World Cup.”

Dua Lipa took to social media on Sunday to clear the air regarding whispers of an upcoming performance in Qatar, where the World Cup is set to take place later this month. In a statement posted to her Instagram Story, the British songstress denied that she would be appearing at the FIFA event’s opening ceremony. “I will not be performing and nor have I ever been involved in any negotiations to perform,” she said. The 27-year-old also made an indirect call on Qatar to address its long history of human rights abuses. “I look forward to visiting Qatar when it has fulfilled all the human rights pledges it made when it won the right to host the World Cup,” the singer wrote. Widespread outrage over Qatar’s mistreatment of its migrant workers—more than 6,500 of whom have died since 2010, according to The Guardian—has been steadily growing as the competition looms. Also of central concern to human rights groups are Qatar’s restrictive stance on women, who can’t travel or work without male permission, and members of the LGBTQ+ community, who are subject to harassment and arbitrary arrest by security forces there.