Pop star Jennifer Lopez has come under fire for performing Saturday night for the 56th birthday of Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, a man accused of many human rights violations.
She is believed to be the first major star to visit and perform the isolated country of Turkmenistan, according to the Guardian. Human Rights Watch has named Turkmenistan “one of the world’s most repressive countries”.
A publicist for Lopez said that had the singer been aware of the country’s human rights issues, she would not have gone there, according to a statement obtained by the Guardian.
