Jennifer Lopez Urged to Cancel Fox Performance Over Qatar Airways

ATLANTA, GA -- Jennifer Lopez is being urged to cancel a private performance Tuesday night at the Fox Theatre by a group urging a boycott of Qatar Airlines.

Lopez is set to perform in an event sponsored by the Association of Flight Attendants. The event is being hosted by Qatar Airways, an airline owned by the State of Qatar which begins daily service from Atlanta to Doha, Qatar, on June 1.

But a letter from the association's international president, Sara Nelson, is asking Lopez to cancel because of human rights violations, according to the AJC.

The protest comes on the same day that the Alliance for Workers Against Repression Everywhere (AWARE) urged Atlantans to boycott the airline.

"It's been widely reported by international media that every week approximately 29 migrant workers will die – total deaths are estimated to be 4,000 – building the 2022 FIFA World Cup soccer facilities in Doha because of deplorable working conditions," the organization said. "Thousands more will suffer other horrifying abuses as workers across business sectors, including Qatar Airways employees, have little to no protections, and some can be legally held in indentured servitude."

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Qatar is an an oil-rich dictatorship in the Middle East. The organization said "the expansion of Qatar's commercial enterprises, including Qatar Airways, reflects the smoke and mirror tactics used by the Qatari government to hide the inhumane treatment of its most vulnerable workers."

AWARE is a nonprofit organization whose stated goal is to bring international attention to policies and business tactics that harm workers' rights. AWARE is launching an international campaign using the hashtag #boycottQatar as Qatar Airways launches this new service from Atlanta.