Jewish American actress and comedian Roseanne Barr took aim at 21-year-old New Zealand pop star Lorde on Monday, blasting the singer over her decision Sunday to cancel an upcoming show in Israel.
Just days after publicists announced a planned concert in Tel Aviv, singer Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor, better known by her stage name “Lorde” backed out following pressure from the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement.
A day later, Lorde said that she had made the “right decision at this time” by cancelling the performance.
“I’ve received an overwhelming number of messages and letters and have had a lot of discussions with people holding many views, and I think the right decision at this time is to cancel the show,” she said.
“I pride myself on being an informed young citizen, and I had done a lot of reading and sought a lot of opinions before deciding to book a show in Tel Aviv, but I’m not too proud to admit I didn’t make the right call on this one. Tel Aviv, it’s been a dream of mine to visit this beautiful part of the world for many years, and I’m truly sorry to reverse my commitment to come play for you. I hope one day we can all dance,” added Lorde.
On Monday, Barr blasted Lorde on Twitter, calling the singer a “bigot”.
“Boycott this bigot: Lorde caves to BDS pressure, cancels Israel concert.”
In a follow up post, Barr added “If they do not know enough about hating Jews after WW2 – they NEVER will – I say f*** them.”
Best known for her eponymous sitcom which ran from 1988 to 1997, Barr, 65, was raised in a Jewish family in Salt Lake City, Utah.
In 2012, Barr made a bid for the Green Party’s presidential nomination, losing to Jill Stein. Barr later ran for president on the Peace and Freedom ticket, garnering some 67,000 votes.
At a 2016 event organized by the pro-Israel StandWithUs organization in Oakland, California, Barr mused about the possibility of immigrating to Israel ahead of her visit to the Jewish state.
I'm going there (to Israel) for Purim, and I might be moving there, too," she said.
Barr endorsed President Trump during the 2016 presidential election campaign, warning that a Clinton victory would “be the absolute death of Israel.”
While Barr later appeared to walk the endorsement back, she later revealed in a tweet that she had indeed voted for Trump.