Alicia Keys slammed for 'sick ode to Hamas' before quickly deleting post
Alicia Keys has been slammed for appearing to post a "sick ode to Hamas" amid the war with Israel.
The singer-songwriter, 42, has come under fire as she took to Instagram with a post about having her "eyes on paragliding". When Hamas attacked Israel earlier this month fighters used motorised paragliders to get over the border from Gaza into Israel. More than 1,000 civilians are believed to have been killed in the incident, which is the latest development in the decades-long conflict between Israel and Palestine.
Many rushed to criticise Alicia for "supporting" Hamas during the war. The singer quickly deleted her original post and has shared a statement insisting it was "COMPLETELY unrelated".
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Alicia Keys was questioned this week over an apparent post on her Instagram account (Twitter)
It had referenced paragliding and is understood to have since been deleted by her (Instagram)Alicia posted a photo on Monday of her modelling a racing jacket that featured a white, black and green design, with some red and yellow. People have suggested the jacket resembles the flag of Palestine.
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She is thought to have captioned the now-deleted post: "Question: What would u do if you weren't afraid of anything??? Tell me your truth ... I've had my eyes on paragliding." The nonprofit antisemitism organisation StopAntisemitism were among those who reacted to the post. They addressed it in a tweet on X - formerly known as Twitter - on Monday evening and questioned Alicia's motives.
Alicia took to the platform earlier to address the situation following a backlash (Instagram)
Some people have questioned her apparent initial post on social media (Getty Images for Keys Soulcare)The group tweeted: "In a now deleted tweet, [she] shares an IG post about trying paragliding if she wasn't afraid. Is this some sick ode to the Hamas terrorists that infiltrated Israel, killed over 1300 people, beheaded babies, raped women, and kidnapped Holocaust survivors @aliciakeys?"
Encouraged by someone to take the post down, with it cited that "its not wrong to use the word paragliding," the organisation reacted: "Let's wait until she responds; the jacket colors are also a bit off putting the two together."
Alicia has since responded to the backlash and issued statement on her Instagram Story. The Grammy Award winner assured her followers that her post had been "unrelated" to the recent "loss of innocent lives".
She wrote in her statement: "The post I shared earlier was COMPLETELY unrelated in any way to the recent devastating loss of innocent lives." She added: "My heart has been breaking... I pray for and stand for peace."
Others however defended the singer-songwriter (Getty Images)
This included her pal and former manager Guy Oseary (Instagram)It hadn't just been the StopAntisemitism organisation that had questioned her apparent initial post, prior to her statement. Others had also expressed concern, including one person who wrote on Instagram: "What a coincidence! Wearing Palestine's color and wanting to go paragliding."
"I see people saying this is a stretch, let Alicia be the one to respond. But this account @StopAntisemites pointed out her outfit. Colours have meaning, last Thursday I wore blue and white for a reason. Sometimes people choose outfits to send subtle messages. Let us wait," read another reaction.
Someone else said: "She said exactly what she said wearing purposeful colors while doing it. Full stop." Another person reacted recently: "There is no way that was a mistake. How? What is the cryptic message about. It's horrific."
One person wrote: "Either she's been living under a rock the past week and has no clue this would be potentially disrespectful to those who just suffered from terrorists on Paraglides, or it's intentionally disrespectful and in support of Hamas."
Others defended Alicia, with one person writing: "That's such a reach." Another said: "This is going a little too far." Someone said: "It's too much to think that it's an ode to hamas. Maybe timing was wrong but please we have serious problems."
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Some people noted that Alicia reportedly lives "near a popular paragliding spot" in California. She spoke about often seeing 'parasailing' underway in her area during an appearance on the Breakfast Club Power 105.1 FM in 2021.
Among those who had defended Alicia was Guy Oseary, who's understood to have previously been her manager. He wrote on Instagram: "There's talk of an antisemitic post that my dear friend Alicia Keys had up on her instagram. I can confirm to anyone in my [Star of David emoji] community that needs to hear it: it's NOT true.
"There was a specific word in her post that our community at this very painful time find very triggering, but it was absolutely not connected in any way. I spoke to Alicia and she was horrified to learn what the word implied and immediately took it down.
"Alicia has always been a fighter for all human rights. I've had a front row seat for over a decade of seeing her positive influence in the world. Her humanitarian work reflects her empathy and her heart."
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