The World Cup 2022 is well underway and Robbie Williams has broken his silence to defend his decision to perform at the highly controversial tournament in Qatar.
He has also slammed the “hypocrisy” of other artists who have refused to perform.
This is despite worldwide outrage over the country’s human rights record.
World Cup 2022: Robbie Williams defends decision to perform in Qatar
Qatar has been condemned for its awful treatment of the LGBTQ+ community and women. It’s a state in which homosexuality is illegal, with people facing fines and up to seven years in jail.
What’s more, many migrant workers are reported to have died building the stadiums for the World Cup.
As a result, FIFA’s decision to hold the tournament there has been hit with controversy.
It would be hypocritical of me to not go [to Qatar] because of the places that I do go to.
Robbie’s fellow musicians Dua Lipa and Rod Stewart have recently stated that they will not perform at the World Cup 2022.
However, Robbie is still going ahead with the performance at the Doha Golf Club on December 8.
And it’s a decision he has defended.
What did Robbie Williams say about performing at the World Cup?
Speaking to the newspaper I Venerdì di, Robbie said it would be wrong for him not to perform over human rights issues “because of the places that I do go to”.
The former Take That member said: “Of course, I don’t condone any abuses of human rights anywhere. That being said, if we’re not condoning human rights abuses anywhere, then it would be the shortest tour the world has ever known.”
The 48-year-old singer added: “It would be hypocritical of me to not go [to Qatar] because of the places that I do go to. Anybody leaving messages saying ‘no to Qatar’ are doing so on Chinese technology.”
He continued: “You get this microscope that goes: ‘Okay, these are the baddies, and we need to rally against them.’ I think that the hypocrisy there is that if we take that case in this place, we need to apply that unilaterally to the world.”
Robbie added, “Then if we apply that unilaterally to the world, nobody can go anywhere.”
What other celebs turned down to perform at the World Cup in Qatar?
Earlier this month, Rod Stewart revealed that he turned down a substantial offer to perform in Qatar.
Speaking to the Sunday Times, he said: “I was actually offered a lot of money, over $1m, to play there [Qatar] 15 months ago. I turned it down. It’s not right to go.”
Around the same time, Dua Lipa also confirmed that she will not be performing.
“There is currently speculation that I will be performing at the opening ceremony of the World Cup in Qatar.
“I will not be performing. Nor have I ever been involved in any negotiation to perform.”
She added that she looks forward “to visiting Qatar when it has fulfilled all the human rights pledges it made” when it became host.
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