New York Times Headline Sanitizes Musical Performer Disinvited From Cornell
“Cornell Cancels Kehlani Performance Over Her Stance on the War in Gaza.”
We covered this story recently. It’s amazing to see the spin the New York Times put on this.
Camera reports:
NY Times Amends Headline That Defended Extremist and Misrepresented Jewish Students
A singer had called Zionists “scum,” said people shouldn’t feel safe until Zionism is extinguished, and incited violence. Or in the euphemistic words of a New York Times headline writer, she had “supported Palestinians.”
Cornell University had invited the singer, who goes by the name Kehlani, to perform on campus. After Jewish students and others expressed their concerns about her hateful rhetoric, the performance was eventually cancelled.
The New York Times covered the cancellation on April 23 under the headline, “Cornell Cancels Kehlani Performance Over Her Stance on the War in Gaza.”
The subhead reinforced the slanted message: “The R&B singer’s outspoken support for Palestinians had drawn criticism on the campus and beyond. Some students expressed disappointment at the cancellation.”
This framing fundamentally distorted the reason for the cancellation. As correctly noted in the article itself, Cornell University canceled the concert due to what the university president called Kehlani’s “antisemitic, anti-Israel sentiments.” Student Jewish leaders were equally clear that this — not the performers opposition to the war or support for Palestinians — was the reason for their concern.
But the paper has repeatedly pushed the narrative that pro-Palestinian expressions and speech are being stifled. And apparently the headline writers sought to force this story into that frame.
In doing so, they not only erased Jewish concerns about antisemitism and anti-Jewish violence, but also portrayed Jewish victims of bigotry as powerful warmongers. They not only normalized Kehlani’s demonization and calls for violence, but also valorized them.
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Comments
I’m not reading any of Alyce McFadden’s work. But I’m curious, did she pay homage to Lucifer by any chance?
NYT continues its long history of being antisemitic scum. Why any Jew reads it. advertises in it, or works there is beyond my understanding.
“they” are one sick mf
In April 2018, they spoke about their sexuality on Twitter, stating, “I’m queer. Not bi, not straight. I’m attracted to women, men, REALLY attracted to queer men, non-binary people, intersex people, trans people. lil poly pansexual”.[95][96] After that, during a livestream in early 2021, Kehlani announced that they are a lesbian,[97] after having publicly identified as queer and pansexual in the past. They prefer polyamorous relationships.[98] They have stated that it is important for them to include female pronouns in their music.[99]
her whole bio is one of great sadness if you can feel any sympathy for a pos
It’s the Cursed Duranty Pulitzer Trophy again, continuing to exert its evil influence over every mind in the building from its secret niche in the boardroom closet.
It is very easy to handle these cases with one simple rule: Student organizations should be free to invite to campus whomever they want. Once the invitation is made, the Administration should not second-guess or “cancel” the lecture or performance, no matter how provocative the invitation is to other students. Once that rule is understood, students will not spend so much time lobbying for cancellations of those holding an opposing view.