Famous American pop star Lady Gaga, who will perform in Israel later this month, has already angered Arab fans, Al Arabiya reports.
The cause of the anger, according to the report, is a video released by the singer in which she greets her Israeli fans with “Shalom”.
"Shalom, Israel," the pop superstar said in the brief greeting. "I'm so excited to perform my new tour in Tel Aviv," she added in reference to her concert scheduled for Sept. 13.
The short video message has gone viral online, with many Arab users labeling her as “disgusting” and devilish” and having “no sensitivities” amid the recent fighting in Gaza.
“She is disgusting and I never liked her because her values are nonexistent. Now she has validated everything I have ever thought of it,” one Facebook user wrote, according to Al Arabiya.
Another seemingly non-Arab user wrote: “The lack of sensitivity is, in my opinion, the worst of the sins!”
Other users expressed anger at the negative reactions to Lady Gaga’s message, the report said.
“I'm no fan of hers, and I doubt her intentions are humanitarian, but the reactions here seem disproportionate to what she said in the video. If you think that a performer shouldn't visit or perform in any country which is occupying another country/land and causing unnecessary suffering for those who are occupied, then let's hope you were equally disgusted by any non-American artist performing in the United States between 2003 and 2011 for the exact same reasons,” one user wrote.
Lady Gaga is in good company, as Justin Timberlake also angered Arabs several months ago when he uploaded a photo of himself at the Western Wall.
Lady Gaga and Timberlake are two stars who have not caved in to pressure from pro-Palestinian Arab groups to boycott the Jewish state.
While some have caved in to the boycott calls, quite a few have rejected them and went ahead with their visits to Israel despite the backlash.
Last year, popular rhythm and blues artist Alicia Keys refused to cave in to pressure by anti-Israel activists and gave a sold out concert in Tel Aviv.
Keys announced that she had decided to go ahead with her concert in Tel Aviv despite calls from a number of anti-Israel activists to boycott the Jewish state.
The pop duo Pet Shop Boys also rejected calls from pro-Arab activists to cancel a Tel Aviv concert. The concert went ahead as scheduled on June 23 of last year.