Latin diva Jennifer Lopez sang 'Happy birthday' on Saturday night to Gourbangouly Berdymoukhamedov, the President of Turkmenistan, one of the most economically isolated countries in the world, during an unprecedented concert in a city by the Caspian.
Since the controversy erupted online, Lopez was forced to apologize. "The event was approved by her representatives, if she had known about the human rights violations in the country she would not have participated," a spokeswoman for the singer said in a press release. "The event was not sponosored by the government or by any political instance whatsoever," a source close to Lopez told E! Entertainment News.
Human Rights Watch, in a report to the Human Rights Committee of the UN, recently called Turkmenistan "a country marked by extraordinary levels of repression."
The spokesman added that she "and several artists were invited and presented at a private event for the China National Petroleum Corporation, where local dignataries were gathered as well".
JLo was the first star from the western hemisphere to appear in the former Soviet republic located in Central Asia, which is known for its large gas reserves but for a poor human rights record.
"The global megastar Jennifer Lopez sings for the first time in Turkmenistan," a presenter announced in Turkmen, Russian and English before the eveining began. The singer opted for a tight outfit and performed her famous hip movements in the unprecedented event in the insular Muslim country in front of the president, his ministers, ambassadors and the heads of state companies, who applauded enthusiastically at the evening's entertainment.
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