Kehlani’s Central Park concert canceled after NYC mayor raises security concerns
NEW YORK (AP) — Kehlani ‘s planned concert in Central Park next month has been canceled after New York City’s mayor raised security concerns about the R&B star’s performance during Pride month, organizers announced Monday.
The “After Hours” singer had been set to headline a June 26 concert billed as “Pride with Kehlani” at the iconic Manhattan park as part of SummerStage, an annual slate of free concerts at parks across the city.
But organizers, in their announcement, cited concerns from Mayor Eric Adams’ administration about the “controversy surrounding Cornell University’s decision to cancel Kehlani’s concert at the University, as well as security demands in Central Park and throughout the City for other Pride events during that same period.”
“We strongly and emphatically believe in artistic expression of all kinds,” the organization wrote in the announcement posted on Instagram. “However, the safety and security of our guests and artists is of the utmost importance and in light of these concerns, the concert has been cancelled.”
Kehlani responded on Instagram Stories by sharing the announcement, along with the phrase “lol.” The post included a selfie in which the musician wrote: “I just found that one out on instagram by the way.”
A representative for Kehlani didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment Monday.
Adams spokesperson Kayla Mamelak Altus said the administration was “grateful” for the City Parks Foundation, the nonprofit that organizes SummerStage, for responding to its concerns.
“We look forward to an exciting lineup of other performances this summer,” she wrote in an email.
PEN America, a group that advocates for artists’ freedom of expression, called the cancellation “cowardly.”
It noted the decision came as U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres, a Democrat representing the Bronx, had slammed Kehlani’s appearance, saying the city has “no business subsidizing or sanitizing antisemitism at taxpayer expense” in a post on X.
“It is deeply unsettling to see elected officials using their offices to dictate the bounds of acceptable expression and muscling private entities to fall into line,” PEN America said in a statement. “No one wins when politicians meddle to suppress artistic expression.”
Kehlani had been slated to perform at Cornell on May 7, but the Ivy League school in upstate New York rescinded the invitation last month, saying the planned appearance had “injected division and discord” into its annual Slope Day celebration.
At the time, Kehlani pushed back at claims she had expressed antisemitic and anti-Israel sentiments.
“For the millionth time, that I am not antisemitic nor anti-Jew,” she said in a video, also posted on Instagram. “I am anti-genocide. I am anti-the actions of the Israeli government. I am anti-an extermination of an entire people. I am anti-the bombing of innocent children, men, women — that’s what I’m anti.”
The California native has been vocal in supporting Palestinians during the ongoing war in Gaza.
The music video “ Next 2 U,” notably, opens with the phrase “long live the intifada” and features dancers waving Palestinian flags.
Intifada, an Arabic word for “uprising” or “resistance,” is seen by some as a call for violence against Jews.
By PHILIP MARCELO
Associated Press
