Nelly Furtado to Donate Gadhafi's $1 Million Payday
March 1, 2011 -- Singer Nelly Furtado plans to donate the $1 million she was paid to perform for the "Gadhafi clan," Furtado announced on Twitter Monday, while other celebrities have stayed silent on the hefty paychecks they reportedly received from the family of the Libyan strongman.
Furtado told fans the million-dollar performance took place at a hotel in Italy for members of the Gadhafi family and guests in 2007. Furtado's announcement came after news surfaced that celebrity A-listers Mariah Carey, Usher and Beyonce had each taken the stage for one of Gadhafi's sons.
According to leaked U.S. State Department documents, Carey was paid $1 million for a New Year's Eve 2008 performance for Mutassim Gadhafi at St. Barts island in the Caribbean. Beyonce sang and Usher presented at a similar party the very next year to the tune of another $1 million, according to the documents.
As rebel forces in Libya organize against the Gadhafi regime, the celebrities that performed for his family are also facing resistance from fans who said they should give the proceeds away as well.
"It is absolutely disgraceful that Usher and Beyonce would agree to perform for Gadhafi's sons no matter how much money they were offered," one commenter wrote on an ABC News message board following the initial report.
"Beyonce, Usher and Mariah Carey should give the money they made from these performances to the American families who had loved ones on that flight," another said, apparently referring to the 1988 Lockerbie bombing of Pan Am flight 103 to which Gadhafi has been personally linked.
Representatives for Beyonce, Usher and Carey -- along with several other celebrities who were spotted at the parties but did not perform -- have not responded to multiple requests for comment for this report. Furtado did not say where the money was going and a representative for the pop singer also did not respond to a request for comment.
Video of the New Year's 2009 party, shot by a party-goer and obtained by ABC News, shows an intimate affair with Beyonce singing several songs just feet away from attendees.
CLICK HERE to go inside Mutassim's New Years Eve 2009 party.
