Justin Bieber was seen performing at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia Sunday, amid controversy over his appearance over the kingdom’s human rights practices.
According to the TMZ the Canadian pop star, 27, donned a red ensemble of a jersey and athletic pants onstage for his performance in conjunction with the F1 Grand Prix, performing a set that included the tracks Deserve You, Somebody and Hold On.
His wife Haily Baldwin 25, shared a shot from the concert on her Instagram, writing, ‘Go baby’ in support of her spouse, who faced multiple requests to withdraw from the concert.
Other entertainers slated to take the stage for the F1 show included A$AP Rocky, Jason Derulo, David Guetta and Tiesto.
Among the people to urge the Peaches singer to cancel included Hatice Cengiz, the fiancée of late Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed in October 2018 by Saudi agents in Istanbul, Turkey.
U.S. intelligence officials later said was approved by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman; Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it ‘completely rejects the negative, false and unacceptable assessment in the report pertaining to the Kingdom’s leadership.’
Cengiz, in a November piece in The Washington Post, said that cancelling the concert would make for ‘a unique opportunity to send a powerful message to the world that your name and talent will not be used to restore the reputation of a regime that kills its critics.’
She said that ‘nothing of significance happens in Saudi Arabia without his consent, and certainly not an event as important and flashy as this.
‘Your face is even featured on the event’s website with his – the executioner of my fiancé, Jamal.’
‘If you refuse to be a pawn of MBS, your message will be loud and clear: I do not perform for dictators. I choose justice and freedom over money’ Cengiz added in the letter to Bieber.
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