Celebrities who protest or support the controversial World Cup in Qatar

"I look forward to visiting Qatar..." said Dua Lipa on her Instagram account, "when it has fulfilled all the human rights pledges it made when it won the right to host the World Cup." At this moment, the singer clearly indicated, she is not going to be present at the global football tournament.

Ever since it was announced that the soccer World Cup would be held in Qatar, the tournament of 2022 has been controversial. Celebrities have participated in the debate. Some of them support the momentous event, while others reject the country for its reported human rights and corruption.

In light of a series of rumors about whether Dua Lipa would perform at the opening of the World Cup, the singer spoke out definitively on the matter in an Instagram story.

"I will not be performing and nor have I ever been involved in any negotiations to perform," she clearly and dryly stated. "I will be cheering England on from afar."

Picture:  @dualipa / Instagram

Dua Lipa has often spoken out in support of LGBTQ rights. As its community faces many restrictions in Qatar, both in its daily life and during the global event, she is unsurprisingly staying far away from the World Cup.

Not everyone shares the opinion of Dua Lipa. The American actor Morgan Freeman, for example, attended the opening ceremony of the World Cup on Sunday, November 20.

Indirectly addressing the controversy surrounding the host country of the World Cup, Morgan Freeman gave an emotional speech at the event. "What unites us is greater than what divides us," he said. "We are one big tribe and the Earth is our tent. Together we can make the call for everyone to unite."

Freeman performed together with the disabled Qatari businessman Ghanim Al Muftah, in an effort to promote inclusivity. Morgan Freeman was a surprise host at the Al Bayt Stadium, where he left fans and film buffs star-struck.

Critical media noted some ironies, though. First of all, Freeman was a spokesperson for the competing, American bid for this same football tournament, losing to Qatar in a controversial 2010 vote, The Guardian reminds us. The second irony of his bit with the disabled businessman was that thousands of immigrant workers have actually been left permanently disabled or dead in building the Qatari football stadiums, including this one of Al Bayt.

Back to the celebrity statements about the Qatar World Cup. Rod Stewart, a music great who undoubtedly supports the English football team, is not attending the tournament.

He told the Sunday Times: "I was actually offered a lot of money, over $1m, to play there 15 months ago. I turned it down." Stewart also explained why. "It's not right to go."

The lauded English singer also offered some more political analysis as he went: "The Iranians should be out too for supplying arms," referring to the team that is in the same group as the English team. "Tell you what, supporters have got to watch out, haven’t they."

What should the fans watch out for, according to Rod Stewart? A number of restrictions have been imposed on visitors that are also quite common in the country's daily life. For one, the English and other supporters will not be able to buy alcohol in eight stadiums, BBC reported in the days leading up to the event. 

Mel C, also known as Sporty Spice from The Spice Girls, has also been quite outspoken about the football event. In an interview with Attitude, she said: "It’s greed. They can try and spin it that they’re there to make a change, but it’s b******t — it’s about money"

"Obviously, I’m a huge England supporter, whatever the gender, but it’s hard to get fully behind it when you know where the money’s coming from," she told Attitude.

The British comedian has decided to take his disagreement with the Qatar World Cup to another level. He is challenging David Beckham not to take part in it.

In a video posted on his social media, he said that he would donate £10,000 to a charity that supports gay people in soccer if David Beckham withdraws from being the ambassador for the Qatar World Cup.

On the other hand, there are those who have decided to participate, and among them is the player David Beckham, who has given a lot to talk about for this reason.

The former soccer player and idol of many in the LGTBQ+ community is bound to attend the World Cup as its ambassador, while also having worked as a spokesperson for Qatar soccer in the past 10 years. Marca magazine estimates that he has been paid 175 million dollars for this job. 

Latino star Maluma and rap legend Nicki Minaj also attended the opening ceremony of the World Cup. They sang the official anthem 'Tukoh taka' together with Lebanese singer Myriam Fares.

Shakira, the singer of one of the previous World Cup anthems, 'Waka Waka (This Time for South Africa)' in 2010, did not watch her successors up close. According to journalist Adriana Dorronsoro from the Spanish TV program 'El programa de Ana Rosa,' insiders confirmed that the Columbian singer prefers to stay home.

The popular singer from the K-Pop band BTS attended the opening event to perform with the Qatari singer Fahad Al-Kubaisi. His new single, 'Dreamers,' sounded in the enormous stadium. 

BTS announced his performance with pride. "Stay tuned!" the band told its fans. "Proud to announce that Jung Kook is part of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Soundtrack & will perform at the World Cup opening ceremony."

The Australian professional soccer player, who came out as gay in 2021, told The Guardian, "I read something along the lines of that [they] give the death penalty for gay people in Qatar, so it’s something I’m very scared [of] and wouldn’t really want to go to Qatar for that."

The former Take That star will go to Qatar and play some of his songs. In response to criticism from fans and critics, he said it would be hypocritical not to go.

The Guardian cites an interview with Italian newspaper 'Il Venerdì di Repubblica' in which Williams says: "Of course, I don’t condone any abuses of human rights anywhere. But, that being said, if we're not condoning human rights abuses anywhere, then it would be the shortest tour the world has ever known: I wouldn’t even be able to perform in my own kitchen."

According to Marca, the Colombian singer J. Balvin, the American stars Jason Derulo and Black Eyed Peas, the English Clean Bandit, Jamaican rapper Sean Paul, and Canadian singer Nora Fatehi have also agreed to play at the World Cup between November 20 and December 18, 2022.

Image: Black Eyed Peas

Harry Kane, the captain of the English team, is playing in the World Cup but was adamant about wearing the 'One Love' armband during its matches. The England Football site quoted Kane as saying that all captains "stand together against all forms of discrimination."

According to AFP, the delegations of Germany and Denmark have indicated that their captains will also wear the inclusive armband (called 'One Love') to support the fight against discrimination.

In the photo: Germany's goalkeeper and captain Manuel Neuer wears the 'One Love' captain's armband.

However, on the first day the English team played, FIFA notified the team that there will be serious consequences for anyone wearing the 'One Love' wristband. In a joint statement, the Football Associations of England, Wales, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands, and Switzerland have explained they will not wear the armband after all, and that they are "very frustrated by the FIFA decision which we believe is unprecedented."

As BTS said in its post: Stay tuned. Even if you don't want to watch football or concerts, the event will be interesting to follow, due to the debate it sparks about the boundaries between entertainment and politics.