Robbie Williams Cancels Istanbul Concert Following Public Backlash For Being A ‘Zionist’
British pop legend Robbie Williams has cancelled his Istanbul concert following public backlash for “being a Zionist.”
Robbie’s Turkish-born wife and children are Jewish, and at his 2023 Tel Aviv concert, he said: “I’m raising my kids Jewish and I’m grateful for the Jewish people. My wife is Jewish, so my kids are Jewish. I like to keep some of the traditions going in the family, just out of respect for you guys and their history.”
The former Take That star has also spoken out before about his positive experiences in Israel, and has the word Simcha (Joy) tattooed on his arm in Hebrew.
He was set to perform in Istanbul this Tuesday evening (October 7, ironically enough), but the event has now been cancelled by city authorities over concerns for public safety.
This comes after days of pressure on Turkish social media denouncing Williams as “a Zionist” who “supports genocide perpetrators”, and viral posts telling the singer that he’s not welcome in Istanbul.
Robbie confirmed the cancellation on Instagram, posting: “I’m extremely sorry that I will not be able to perform in Istanbul next week. City authorities have cancelled the show, in the interests of public safety. The last thing I would ever want to do is to jeopardise the safety of my fans.”
Obviously this sucks for all the Robbie Williams fans in Turkey who bought a ticket and were looking forward to the show, but what can you do? I guess maybe go see him in concert in Israel instead because he’s clearly very welcome to perform there.
I’m not sure it’s particularly fair on Robbie and his fans to label him a ‘Zionist’, as that’s not quite the same thing as being married to a Jewish lady and raising your kids Jewish. I guess any Jew or those married to one are going to be tarred with that brush these days; such is the emotion people feel over the atrocities taking place in Gaza right now.
If you’re a celebrity who’s viewed to be ‘condoning’ the treatment of Palestinian people because you’re a lover of the country of Israel, then it’s probably best to stay away from Istanbul for a while.
For the time Robbie caught some flak for suggesting the Pizzagate conspiracy was true, click HERE. Maybe he’s onto something?
