Kehlani Responds to Being Dropped From Cornell Show: 'I'm Not Antisemitic, I'm Anti-Genocide'

Kehlani has released a statement about being pulled from the performance lineup of Cornell University’s "Slope Day" for her comments about Israel. On Saturday (April 26), the singer posted a video response about the situation, where she vehemently denied the university's claim that she had "espoused antisemitic...sentiments." Instead, she said, she was against Israel's attack on Gaza, which human rights groups like Amnesty International have labeled a genocide—something the country vehemently denies.

“I’m being asked to clarify and make a statement yet again,” she began, after explaining that she’s currently in a room with Jewish and Palestinian people in her circle—including her best friend, a Palestinian Jew. “I’m not antisemitic or anti-Jew. I’m anti-genocide, anti-actions of the Israeli government, anti-extermination of entire people, anti-bombing of innocent children, men, and women. That’s what I’m anti.”

“The very first live I did at the beginning of this genocide was with a really beautiful Jewish organization called Jewish Voices [sic] for Peace and I still continue to learn from and work alongside really impactful Jewish organizers against this genocide,” she continued. 

Kehlani continued, suggesting that being pulled from the lineup wasn’t bothering her. “I want to be very clear that I do believe that God has plans for me, and that’s not going to stop nothing I’ve got going on,” she explained. 

In the caption for the post, Kehlani hinted that the Cornell University cancellation isn’t the only one she’s dealing with now.

“I know you’ve seen Cornell University cancelled my show, and now there are attempts at other cancellations on top of the cancellations i’ve already experienced over the past year,” wrote the singer. “If you want to cancel me from opportunity, stand on it being because of your zionism. don’t make it anti-jew.”

Kehlani was originally announced as a performer for Cornell University’s “Slope Day,” before the college received complaints about the singer’s “anti-Israel sentiments.” In the music video for her 2024 song “Next 2 U,” for instance, she waves Palestinian flags. At the beginning of the video, the phrase “long live the intifada” appears. Chants using the word “intifada”—the Arabic word for “uprising”—are seen, according to the ADL, as "a call for indiscriminate violence against Israel" by some Jews and Israelis. However, many in Gaza say that the word is, per NPR, "a peaceful call to resist Israel's occupation of Gaza and the West Bank."

“In the days since Kehlani was announced, I have heard grave concerns from our community that many are angry, hurt, and confused that Slope Day would feature a performer who has espoused antisemitic, anti-Israel sentiments in performances, videos, and on social media,” wrote Cornell’s President Michael Kotlikoff on the school’s website. 

"For that reason, I am rescinding Kehlani’s invitation," added Kotlikoff, revealing that a new headliner would be announced in the coming days.