Pharrell Williams Faces BDS Boycott in South Africa Over Woolworths Ties
Image by Getty Images
Organizers of a concert by the American pop star Pharrell Williams have abandoned their legal action against pro-Palestinian demonstrators protesting against his presence there.
The Sun International hotel group launched an urgent court interdict on Monday to limit the number of protesters outside Williams’ Sept. 21 concert in Cape Town, according to ewn.co.za. But the group withdrew their court application, due to be heard today, against the local branch of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement against Israel, or the BDS movement.
BDS SA spokesperson Kwara Kekana described the hotel company’s move as an about turn.
“For us it’s not only a Palestine victory but it’s a victory for freedom of expression,” he said.
Pro-Palestine protesters have been agitating against the American pop star since he concluded a promotional deal with major national retailer Woolworths, due to its trade ties with Israel. Woolworths denies sourcing produce from the West Bank or other disputed territories.
Last month, BDS SA board member Braam Hanekom said: “[Williams] is about to face the biggest backlash any artist has faced in South Africa in over 30 years, since the days of apartheid. He is walking into a very angry, unhappy environment because he has chosen to walk with Woolworths,” he told Reuters following a decision by the City of Cape Town to deny an application by thousands to protest at Williams’ Sept. 21 concert.
Hanekom threatened that protestors may block roads on concert nights or rally inside venues. A second concert is due to take place in Johannesburg.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
