Jennifer Lopez arrives at the Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sunday, May 19, 2013 in Las Vegas. (Photo by John Shearer/Invision/AP)
Jennifer Lopez’s political snafu earned her some big bucks.
Since word spread Lopez sang “Happy Birthday” to an oppressive dictator, she has received a wave of criticism.
And now that the money she made for the event has been disclosed, the controversy will likely continue.
According to sources who spoke with US Weekly, Lopez earned a whopping $1.5 million for her performance.
And despite some calling for Lopez to return the large fee, it is unlikely her team will see this as necessary.
Instead of addressing the issue herself, Lopez has let her camp handle the situation.
After her team issued an initial statement Sunday, another person close to Lopez elaborated on the situation to E News.
The source said given how involved Lopez is in “knowing everything about who she is performing for," it was unimaginable " that Jennifer was not aware of the human rights link in this instance."
"Either that or she was grossly misinformed,” the source added.
“There is no way she would have agreed to do this without having a prepared report on the country."
On Saturday, Lopez serenaded the president of Turkmenistan, a former Soviet bloc country whose leader has been widely criticized for human rights violations.
The performance infuriated human rights activists, who claim it destroys her carefully-crafted involvement in organizations like Amnesty International.
“What is the next stop on her tour, Syria? The dictator of Kazakhstan’s birthday is July 6, maybe she will also pay him a visit?” Human Rights Foundation president Thor Halvorssen said in a press release.
Lopez’s representative has said had the singer known there were human rights issues in the country, she wouldn't have performed there at all.
A statement released by her publicist says it was for the China National Petroleum Corp. and wasn't a political event.
However, the country's leader, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow did attend.
According to the statement, the birthday song was a last-minute request made by the company to Lopez and she "graciously obliged."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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