Gaddafi's money stretches all the way to Hollywood
If there’s one thing we can definitely say about Muammar al-Gaddafi, it’s that his money, at least from a PR standpoint, is toxic.
After stories surfaced that Nelly Furtado, Beyoncé, Mariah Carey and Usher had taken dough for private concerts performed for the Libyan dictator’s family, they were forced to give it away. To save face, they donated the cash – up to $2 million in Beyoncé’s case – to charity.
Yet while these pop stars were able to proactively get out from under the Gaddafi Stink, a new report shows that a movie studio funded by the tyrant’s money is getting shunned by Hollywood for a similar affiliation.
According to the New York Times, Natural Selection, which is backed by Gaddafi’s son, Saadi, is getting blacklisted in Tinseltown for its source of funding.
The younger Gaddafi, along with another group of investors, reportedly sunk $100 million into Natural Selection last year, months before any Libyan conflict bubbled over.
Now, the Times notes, there’s been a “scramble by major Hollywood players and institutions to distance themselves from projects in which Mr. Qaddafi might be involved.”
The paper says William Morris Agency, which had been connected with Natural Selection’s upcoming James Franco/Benicio Del Toro crime pic “The Iceman,” is likely to back out from the deal, and that actors such as Mickey Rourke aren’t commenting on their relationship with the Gaddafi-funded production house.
Perhaps most dramatic to this story so far: producer Matthew Beckerman, who boasted about his Gaddafi money connection in Variety magazine last year, had his name removed from the credits of the New Orleans jazz documentary he has set to debut this week.
By Jason Buckland, MSN Money
Posted by: lolin | Mar 13, 2022 4:34:04 PM
How were these stars supposed to know that Gaddafi was going to start killing his own people? Maybe not a good idea to take more money from him right now....I'm sure Gaddafi has got his mind on other things. But really, which is going to be worse over there....Al Queda is supporting the overthrow of his regime. It could go from bad to worse...its a total mess. Better to make movies with his money than see it going into guns and weapons.
Posted by: Ron Cloutier | Mar 13, 2022 7:38:35 PM
What a joke, US oil companies are heavily invested in Libya and are making ghadaffi money for the9r stockholders, heck they even drove up the price of oil to keep stockholders happy, why shouldn't Hollywood make a few bucks off thaT NUT CASE TOO.
Posted by: whatever | Mar 13, 2022 11:02:55 PM
One year ago the Gadafi Family was booking luxury resorts in the Caribean and EU, Hiring world famous artists to perform for them and no one blinked an eye. Now that the CIA is trying to change the regime, and others in the area. Anyone who has done business with them is under the microscope.
What about the American government, they have openly done business with the Libiyians for Decades, aswell as Iran, and Iraq before them, and Kuwait, Saudi Arabia. All of these are represive dictatorships which use thier countries vast wealth as their own.
We should be blaming the governments and politicians who support these people during their reigns while turning a blind eye to the crimes they commit, not the artists, and business who have legally done business with these people. One year ago no one was protesting in Libiya so why should a business or artist who did business with them then be punished.
Instead of jumping on the media bandwagon, people need to educate themselves, and think for themselves. Travel, go to other places and learn other cultures. Maybe then they will see how repressed they are at home in the land of the free(except for anyone deemed undesireable by the politicians and big business).
Posted by: carl | Mar 14, 2022 1:14:23 PM
all of these posts so far are excellent I agree with all 3 above good work