Dua Lipa drops manager over anti-Palestinian campaign

Global pop star Dua Lipa has severed ties with her Jewish manager, David Levy, after he was found to be behind a smear campaign aimed at blocking the Irish rap group Kneecap from performing at the Glastonbury Festival, CE Report quotes Kosova Press.

According to the Daily Mail, Levy was the first signatory of a leaked "private and confidential" letter sent to the festival’s founder, Michael Eavis, urging him to remove the pro-Palestinian rap group Kneecap due to alleged political affiliations. Once the letter was exposed, Dua Lipa decided to end her professional relationship with Levy.

An industry insider told the newspaper that Dua “made sure David Levy would no longer produce her music,” emphasizing that the artist is openly pro-Palestinian and could not tolerate a manager who engaged in such pressure tactics.

The Grammy-winning singer has long defended Palestinian rights. In May last year, she used her Instagram platform, followed by 88 million people, to denounce the Israeli genocide in Gaza and has joined protests criticizing the UK’s complicity in the war.

Despite the letter, Kneecap performed at Glastonbury in July. Police briefly investigated complaints but later closed the case, citing lack of evidence of any criminal offense. The group described the investigation as “political intimidation by police,” according to Anadolu Agency.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has carried out a genocide in Gaza, which has killed nearly 65,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The assault has displaced hundreds of thousands of people along with a blockade on humanitarian aid that has taken the lives of at least 442 Palestinians, including 147 children.