Nelly Furtado to donate Gaddafi money
2011-03-01 11:21
Ottawa - Grammy-winning Canadian singer Nelly Furtado said on Monday she would give away $1m she received from Muammar Gaddafi for a performance four years ago in Italy.
"In 2007, I received $1m from the Gaddafi clan to perform a 45-minute show for guests at a hotel in Italy," Furtado said in a Twitter message. "I am going to donate the money."
She did not reveal to whom she would donate the money.
Furtado, 32, skyrocketed to fame with her 2000 debut album Whoa, Nelly!, which included the hit single I'm Like a Bird.
She won a Grammy for best female pop vocal performance for the multi-platinum album, but her 2003 follow-up Folklore, which used more acoustic grooves, was less successful.
Furtado grew up in the westernmost Canadian city of Victoria, the daughter of immigrant parents from Portugal's mid-Atlantic Azores islands.
Pop stars Beyonce, Usher, Mariah Carey and Lionel Ritchie were reportedly paid up to $1m each to perform for members of the Gaddafi family in recent years.
According to Rolling Stone, no other stars have thus far responded to public calls to donate the money. Managers for Usher, 50 Cent and Mariah Carey declined comment, while Beyoncé's management were unavailable for comment.