Los Angeles:
Beyonce announced that she donated the money earned from a performance at a private party thrown by Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi's son, to Haiti earthquake relief last year after discovering where it came from. Now following this disclosure singer Mariah Carey has also sought to distance herself from Gaddafi, saying she feels "horrible" to have performed for the dictator and his family at a New Year Eve's concert.
The 40-year-old said she was "embarrassed" and did not confirm how much she was paid for 2008's four-song set, which took place on St Barts in the Caribbean. Carey claims that she did not know who had hired her at that time.
The singer, however, stopped short of pledging the reported USD 1 million that she earned from the gig, to charity.
"I was naive and unaware of who I was booked to perform for. I feel horrible and embarrassed to have participated in this mess," Carey said in a statement posted on her website.
The 'We Belong Together' hitmaker promised that a future single, Save the Day, will raise money for human rights.
"At the time, Libya was not in the news. The shows were booked by a name promoter who probably was not forthcoming about the true nature of the underwriters. Now it's become an issue in hindsight, which is sort of ridiculous," Carey said.
"Going forward, this is a lesson for all artists to learn from. We need to be more aware and take more responsibility regardless of who books our shows. Ultimately we as artists are to be held accountable," she added.
The three pop stars had pocketed massive pay cheques for the private events. So far Furtado is the only artist to have donated her fee from the Gaddafis following the uprising in Libya this month.
The Grammy winning singer had pocketed an undisclosed amount of money for singing five songs in 2009.
Other stars who allegedly performed for the dictator's family include Usher, Timbaland and 50 Cent but they have not commented on the issue so far
The 40-year-old said she was "embarrassed" and did not confirm how much she was paid for 2008's four-song set, which took place on St Barts in the Caribbean. Carey claims that she did not know who had hired her at that time.
The singer, however, stopped short of pledging the reported USD 1 million that she earned from the gig, to charity.
"I was naive and unaware of who I was booked to perform for. I feel horrible and embarrassed to have participated in this mess," Carey said in a statement posted on her website.
The 'We Belong Together' hitmaker promised that a future single, Save the Day, will raise money for human rights.
"At the time, Libya was not in the news. The shows were booked by a name promoter who probably was not forthcoming about the true nature of the underwriters. Now it's become an issue in hindsight, which is sort of ridiculous," Carey said.
"Going forward, this is a lesson for all artists to learn from. We need to be more aware and take more responsibility regardless of who books our shows. Ultimately we as artists are to be held accountable," she added.
The three pop stars had pocketed massive pay cheques for the private events. So far Furtado is the only artist to have donated her fee from the Gaddafis following the uprising in Libya this month.
The Grammy winning singer had pocketed an undisclosed amount of money for singing five songs in 2009.
Other stars who allegedly performed for the dictator's family include Usher, Timbaland and 50 Cent but they have not commented on the issue so far
