Lawmaker Calls for Lorde Florida Concert Cancellations Over Israel
In December, Lorde announced the cancellation of an upcoming concert in Tel Aviv, Israel, in support of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement. Now, a Florida politician is calling for the cancellation of her concerts in his state as a result, as Florida Today reports. Referring to a 2016 law that prohibits the state government from doing business exceeding $1 million with organizations that boycott Israel, Rep. Randy Fine, a Republican, is asking venues in Miami and Tampa to call off Lorde’s scheduled performances this April.
“Florida has no tolerance for anti-Semitism and boycotts intended to destroy the state of Israel,” Fine said in a statement. “When Lorde joined the boycott in December, she and her companies became subject to that statute. The taxpayers of Miami and Tampa should not have to facilitate bigotry and anti-Semitism, and I look forward to the Miami Sports and Exhibition Authority and the Tampa Sports Authority complying with the law and cancelling these concerts.”
The Counsel on American-Islamic Relations has launched a petition against the cancellation of the concerts. They write, “CAIR-Florida strongly believes that cancelling Lorde's performances would violate the constitutionally-guaranteed free speech rights of business owners and individuals who participate in the international boycott of Israel's illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories.”
Pitchfork has reached out to Lorde’s representatives, as well as representatives for the venues, for comment. Both concerts are still listed on the venue's websites and Ticketmaster, and the American Airlines Arena in Miami confirmed to Pitchfork that their show is still set to take place.
