Usher joined Beyonce and Nelly Furtado in their shame at performing for Moammar Gadhafi. E! Online reports:
Usher is the latest star to express regret for ever taking money from coffers connected to the Libyan dictator, who has been engaging his supporters in a bloody battle against rebel forces who are trying to expel him from power.
The R&B star joins Nelly Furtado and Beyoncé in the never-again pool of artists who say they unknowingly performed for six-figure fees at private events involving Gadhafi’s family and are now passing their paychecks along to good causes.
Actually, Beyoncé’s rep confirmed that the pop-R&B superstar donated her $1 million to earthquake relief efforts in Haiti last year, immediately after learning of the Gadhafi connection.
“I am sincerely troubled to learn about the circumstances surrounding the Nikki Beach St. Bart’s event that took place on New Year’s Eve 2009, ” Usher said in a statement issued Friday. “I will be donating all of my personal proceeds from that event to various human rights organizations.”
According to his rep, Usher has already donated to Amnesty International and will continue to give to other human rights charities throughout the year.Furtado admitted last week to taking $1 million for a private performance in 2007 and vowed to donate the same amount to charity.
If Usher really wants to repent, he needs to send Justin Bieber to perform in Libya. Ideally, Bieber would get caught in the crossfire. If not, we can still bet that Gadhafi will either surrender, kill himself, or die laughing the first time this kid says “shawty.”
