Alicia Keys was at the center of controversy on Monday after an antisemitism advocacy group was critical of a social media post she put up, saying she was using coded messages to signal her support to Hamas amid its war with Israel.
The 42-year-old singer initially took to Instagram with a photo of herself donning a green leather racing jacket with black and white highlights, in colors some said were reminiscent of the black, white, green and red seen on Palestine’s flag.
The Manhattan native, whose real name is Alicia Augello Cook, captioned the post: ‘Question: What would u do if you weren’t afraid of anything??? Tell me your truth … I’ve had my eyes on paragliding,’ adding two sets of emojis of eyes.
The Girl on Fire singer, who has more than 27.1 million followers on the social media platform, later deleted the post.
The post from the Empire State of Mind songstress caught the attention of the advocacy group StopAntisemitism, which questioned if Keys was making a subtle reference to the paragliders Hamas used in its October 7 attack on Israel, triggering the war.
The latest: Alicia Keys, 42, was at the unlikely center of controversy on Monday after an antisemitism advocacy group was critical of a social media post she put up, saying she was using coded messages to signal her support to Hamas amid its war with Israel
The Grammy-winning artist responded to the controversy on Monday evening in an Instagram Stories post, denying any connection between the paragliding post and commentary on current events
‘In a now deleted tweet, Alicia Keys shares an IG post about trying paragliding if she wasn’t afraid,’ a tweet from StopAntisemitism read. ‘Is this some sick ode to the Hamas terrorists that infiltrated Israel, killed over 1300 people, beheaded babies, raped women, and kidnapped Holocaust survivors @aliciakeys?’
The Grammy-winning artist responded to the controversy on Monday evening in an Instagram Stories post, denying any connection between the paragliding post and commentary on current events.
‘The post I shared earlier was COMPLETELY unrelated to the recent devastating loss of innocent lives,’ she said. ‘My heart has been breaking … I pray and stand for peace.’
Famed music manager Guy Oseary, who was born in Israel, took to Instagram to defend the Fallin’ singer’s character.
‘There’s talk of an antisemitic post that my dear friend Alicia Keys had up on her instagram,’ Oseary wrote. ‘I can confirm to anyone in my [Star of David emoji] community that needs to hear it: it’s NOT true.’
He continued, in reference to the use of the word paragliding, ‘There was a specific word in her post that our community at this very painful time find very triggering, but it was absolutely not connected in any way.’
Oseary added, ‘I spoke to Alicia and she was horrified to learn what the word implied and immediately took it down. Alicia has always been a fighter for all human rights.
‘I’ve had a front row seat for over a decade of seeing her positive influence in the world. Her humanitarian work reflects her empathy and her heart.’
The advocacy group StopAntisemitism , which questioned if Keys was making a subtle reference to the paragliders Hamas used in its October 7 attack on Israel, triggering the war. Hamas was seen training with paragliders in the weeks before the attack
Famed music manager Guy Oseary, who was born in Israel, took to Instagram to defend the Fallin’ singer’s character
In response to the post from StopAntisemitism, some users believed Keys had intended to signal her support in the efforts against Israel with the combination of words and images in her initial post
Some said that the colors on the jacket Keys wore were intended to be similar to that of the Palestine flag. A protestor was seen upholding the flag last week in Rome
Some users said that the advocacy group was reaching in its suggestion that Keys was subtly signaling support for the Hamas attacks on Israel, which commenced October 7
Podcaster Sara Foster expressed skepticism in Oseary’s defense of Keys, writing, ‘Crazy. What a coincidence.’
Comedian Elon Gold responded to Oseary: ‘She needs to prove it herself. She needs to speak up against Hamas after appearing to be winking at them. I’m sure her heart is good. But she can’t be silent after this slaughter, mass rape, baby beheadings….’
Podcaster Jordana Horn Gordon responded to Oseary that Keys ‘should put up a post correcting’ the initial post, adding, ‘it came across very, very differently from what you’re saying.’
Horn Gordon added, ‘Respectfully: Just deleting in the era of screenshots isn’t an apology, nor is having a Jewish friend step forward on your behalf.’
In response to the post from StopAntisemitism, some users believed Keys had intended to signal her support in the efforts against Israel with the combination of words and images in her initial post.
One user said: ‘The … the colors of her jackets. Too many coincidences to be a coincidence.
Another said: ‘Look at the colors she’s wearing, the reference to paragliding, even with the eyeball emoji… she knew EXACTLY what she was doing.’
One user said of her outfit: I see people saying this is a stretch, let Alicia be the one to respond. But this account @StopAntisemites pointed out her outfit. Colors have meaning, last [Thursday] I wore blue and white for a reason. Sometimes people choose outfits to send [subtle] messages. Let us wait.’
Other users said that the advocacy group was reaching in its suggestion that Keys was subtly signaling support for the Hamas attacks on Israel, which commenced October 7.
‘Take this down, its not wrong to use the word paragliding,’ one user said, while another said that while they supported StopAntisemitism and its efforts, ‘This is going a little too far.’
Another user pointed out the unstated geographic elements, noting that Keys’ Southern California home is adjacent to the Torrey Pines Gliderport, a hub of recreational paragliding.
‘To be fair, her house in San Diego is by the gliderport in La Jolla (it’s public knowledge), and she sees the paragliders every day,’ the user said. ‘She MIGHT not be referring to Hamas.’
Keys’ post came on the 10th day of the conflict between Hamas and Israel, in which more than 4,000 people have died, with more than a million people leaving their homes in the Gaza Strip.
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