About 500 people gathered outside of the GrandWest Casino in Cape Town, South Africa to protest a Pharrell Williams performance yesterday (September 21), New York Daily News reports.
The protesters were objecting to the rapper-producer’s ties with Woolworths, a South African food and clothing retailer who emphasizes giving back to the community. Pharrell is serving as style director and is assisting in fundraising for education.
The protesters, led by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel movement, were upset over the company’s business with Israel.
“By working with Woolworths, Pharrell supports Israel, a country that supports the oppression of Palestine, a country that is the new apartheid state,” Ashraf Salie, one of the protestors said.
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Some of the signs held by the protesters read, “Pharrell is welcome if Gaza is free” and “Pharrell and Woolworths have blood on their hands.”
The company says that it does not get its food from Israeli-controlled areas of Palestine. It says that less than 0.1 percent of its food comes from Israel.
The concert went on as planned and was promoted on Woolworth’s social media.
Israel and Palestine have been in violent conflict for decades, according to the BBC. Israel became a country in 1948, but was not recognized by the Palestinians who occupied the area. The territory of Gaza is the area most in question. Israel left its presence in the region in 2005, but controls the surrounding areas and has formed a blockade so that it is very difficult to get in or out.
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For additional Pharrell coverage, watch the following DX Daily:
