Kehlani has been outspoken in her support of the Palestinian people as the death toll in Gaza inches toward 40,000. The singer has raised $550,000 for families in the region and urged other artists to address the matter publicly. In response, the Bay Area says they have been met with pushback instead. According to Kehlani, multiple artists declined to move forward with providing them features for their latest album, Crash, because of her decision to remain outspoken on the matter.
“There are a lot more people involved on artists teams than just the artists,” Kehlani told The Breakfast Club.
“And it also wasn’t every single feature. There were people who didn’t get it back in time or it wasn’t aligned with the timing of their album. I didn’t mean every single artist, but there were artists that I reach to and someone on the team was like ‘We don’t f—k with her’ or they said this and another thing made it to me.”
The pushback hasn’t stopped there. Kehlani went on to say brands have pulled back sponsorship deals and opportunities due to her decision to speak out against the treatment of civilians in Gaza.
“I have experienced a lot of pushback,” Kehlani added.
“I’ve experienced a lot of loss. I’ve experienced a lot of things that were promised and set up for this rollout and album to happen that were supposed to be a lot of ‘firsts’… yeah, magazines and these things… brand deals and opportunities that we’re sad to lose but at the end of the day… I don’t regret doing something that I — I can go to sleep at night. I can go to sleep knowing that, like, what I learned to be as an artist I’m aligned with.”
