Jennifer Lopez has suffered a massive backlash after giving a private performance in the former Soviet republic
Jennifer Lopez has found herself in the midst of a PR disaster after performing at the birthday party of Turkmenistan president Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, a performance that included a Marilyn Monroe-esque rendition of 'Happy Birthday.' Seems harmless enough and thats probably what J-Lo thought too, but Turkmenistan is a country rife with political and social turmoil and has a long history of human rights violations stemming from it's dictator-led government.
J-Lo has received heavy criticism for her performance in the Asian country
Much like Kim Jong Un in North Korea, Turkmenistan's political hierarchy relies on a cult of personality, and Berdymukhamedov maintains absolute power over his mostly suffering citizens. Since her performance on Saturday (June 29) southern resort of Avaza on coast of the Caspian Sea, human rights campaigners have lambasted the singer for her actions, although J-Lo has since denied having any knowledge of the appalling standard of living most of the Turkmenistan population have lived under since the fall of the Soviet Union.
The singer reportedly earned a massive sum, believed to be in the seven figure range, for her performance, which was organised - according to J-Lo's PR team - by China's state-run oil and natural gas company China National Petroleum Corporation. The CNPC were also responsible for asking the singer to perform the number for President Berdymukhamedov, altough the Chinese company have yet to confirm any of the claims made by J-Lo's team.
She was recently awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
This isn't the first time Jenny has performed in a former Soviet country for a huge sum of money and recently performed at the wedding of an Uzbek businessman in Ukraine for a reported sum of $1 million. She has also performed for Azerbaijan politician Telman Ismailov, reportedly for $1.4m, as well as a selection of performances for Russian businessmen.
Is Jenny at fault?
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