Beyonce, Carey distance themselves from Gaddafi

LONDON, (Reuters Life!) – U.S. singers Beyonce and  Mariah Carey have sought to distance themselves from the  tainted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, for whose entourage they  both performed at glitzy New Year’s eve parties.
They joined Canadian artist Nelly Furtado, who used her  Twitter account on Monday to declare she would give away the $1  million she received to perform a 45-minute set in Italy for  Gaddafi’s family in 2007.
Pop stars’ association with Gaddafi and his sons has caused  considerable embarrassment this week as the Libyan ruler orders  a brutal crackdown on an uprising against his rule.
The music press has highlighted how artists including  Beyonce and Carey have earned large paydays for sometimes brief  appearances at lavish parties hosted by Gaddafi family members,  including his son Muatassim. The stars have faced calls from  fans and the public to give back the money they made.
Beyonce said she donated the cash she earned at a private  party on the Caribbean island of St. Barts on New Year’s Eve,  2009 to earthquake relief efforts in Haiti after learning the  promoter had links to Gaddafi.
“Once it became known that the third party promoter was  linked to the Qaddafi (Gaddafi) family, the decision was made  to put that payment to a good cause,” she said in a statement  posted on her website.
Today, Carey confirmed she had performed at a similar  function “thrown by the sons of vicious, crazy dictator”  Gaddafi and expressed her embarrassment, although she stopped  short of promising to give the cash earned to charity.
A statement on her website said: “At the time, Libya was  not in the news…Now it’s become an issue in hindsight, which  is sort of ridiculous.”
She added that she would donate the proceeds from a new  song “Save the Day” for unspecified “human rights issues” and  stressed her previous charity work.
“I was naive and unaware of who I was booked to perform  for,” she said.
“I feel horrible and embarrassed to have participated in  this mess. Going forward, this is a lesson for all artists to  learn from. We need to be more aware and take more  responsibility regardless of who books our shows.
“Ultimately we as artists are to be held accountable.”
The International Criminal Court prosecutor said on  Thursday that Gaddafi, his sons and members of their inner  circle could be held responsible for crimes by their security  forces.
The United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions on  Gaddafi and his family on Saturday, and referred Libya’s  crackdown on demonstrators to the court.