Brandi Carlile boycotts Most Powerful Women Summit over inclusion of former DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen

The post Brandi Carlile boycotts Most Powerful Women Summit over inclusion of former DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen appeared first on Consequence of Sound.

Brandi Carlile has withdrawn from this week’s FORTUNE Most Powerful Women Summit due to the inclusion of another woman who made the list: Kirstjen Nielsen, the former US Department of Homeland Security Secretary.

For those unfamiliar with Nielsen, the ex-Secretary served as part of the Trump administration from December 2017 until April 2019. During that time, the immigration policy implemented at the US-Mexico border resulted in hundreds of children separated from their parents.

Carlile has now joined Hillary Clinton and Surviving R. Kelly executive producer dream hampton as previously scheduled participants who’ve now withdrawn from the Summit due to Nielsen’s involvement.

In a statement, the country singer and Highwomen member gave clear reasoning for dropping out of the DC event. “I don’t think that human rights violators and merit-based abusers of displaced people should be given a platform to ‘reimagine’ history,” she wrote. “The atrocity of family separation at our Southern border needs to go down in history as one of the United States of America’s most merciless acts.”

She continued,

“Respectfully, I absolutely cannot support Kirstjen Nielsen having a voice among the most powerful and inspiring women in America. Her access to power is righteously over. I forgive her. I mean no disrespect. I wish her well and hope that she comes to understand the error in her part of this shameful policy.”

The Grammy-winning performer won’t be making it to DC, but she’ll still be busy with a handful of tour dates on the horizon, including this weekend’s Voodoo Music Experience and December’s Intersect Las Vegas Festival. Get your tickets here.

Read Carlile’s full post below.

Brandi Carlile boycotts Most Powerful Women Summit over inclusion of former DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen
Robin Bacior

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