A Spanish fashion designer’s refusal to design a garment for a singer is the latest episode in a campaign, mainly carried out via social media, to pressure celebrities to speak out against Israel.
Miguel Adrover said he refused to create a design for fellow Spaniard Rosalia Vila Tobella, known as Rosalía, a pop and flamenco singer, for not being sufficiently pro-"Palestine.”
“Doing ‘The Right Thing'… Silence is complicity, and even more so when you have a big microphone where millions of people listen to you when you sing. That’s why you have the responsibility to use this power to denounce this genocide,” Adrover posted to Instagram.
“Rosalia, this is nothing personal. I admire you for all your talent and for everything you’ve achieved. And I think you are much more than those artists who only dedicate themselves to show business and entertainment. Now we have to do ‘The Right Thing,’” he wrote.
The designer attached images of an email exchange between his representatives and those of Rosalía, who had requested a “custom look” for the 32-year-old singer.
“We don’t have any confirmed dates as of yet, but it’s looking likely we will need in Sept/October,” the singer’s representative wrote.
In response, Adrover’s representatives wrote: “I’m sorry, but Miguel doesn’t work with any artist who doesn’t publicly support Palestina.”
A few comments from readers to Adrover’s post said Rosalía had come out in support of Arabs in Gaza.
Israel’s Channel 12 reported that on Oct. 19, 2023, less than two weeks after the Oct. 7 Hamas-led invasion of Israel, Rosalia called for donations for Gazans in an Instagram post.
“Hundreds of thousands of children and their families have begun to flee northern Gaza. They have almost run out of food, water, electricity, medicines and safe access to hospitals. The situation is catastrophic,” she wrote.
However, a few hours later, she deleted the post, Channel 12 reported.
