SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — UC San Diego and UC San Diego Health have announced they are not participating in this year's San Diego Pride Festival, citing Pride's decision to keep Kehlani as a headlining performer.
The organizations announced the move in the following statement on Friday:
UC San Diego and UC San Diego Health have been strong supporters of San Diego Pride for many years, reflecting our deep commitment to fostering an inclusive and just society for our LGBTQ+ community.
This year, we look forward to proudly participating in the Pride Parade as in years past. However, due to concerns regarding the headlining performer’s history of expressing blatantly Antisemitic views, we have made the decision to withdraw our sponsorship, financial support and participation in the Pride Festival.
We strongly condemn Antisemitism and stand firm in our commitment to promoting inclusivity and respect for all individuals, including our Jewish students, faculty, staff and patients.
Our support for the LGBTQ+ community remains unwavering, and we look forward to celebrating and supporting our valued community members at this year’s parade.
The move comes just one week after multiple San Diego Jewish organizations also announced their plans not to participate in the Pride Festival.
In a statement to ABC 10News after the Jewish organizations decided not to participate, San Diego Pride said, "We respect our local Jewish community’s decision not to participate in San Diego Pride’s programming this year. Each member of our community must make their own decision about attending this year’s events, but we hope everyone will come out as a sign of solidarity for our queer community.
"San Diego Pride does not endorse or adopt the political positions of any individual performer. Rather, we honor the value of artistic integrity, the importance of free expression, and the role that artists play in shaping culture, challenging systems, and amplifying voices while respecting each other’s differences.”
Kehlani has been vocal about support for Palestinians and Gaza during the nearly two-year-long bombing campaign and invasion of that strip of land by Israel following terrorist attacks by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.
The Grammy-nominated Oakland R&B star was set to headline a new San Francisco Pride festival called SoSF at the end of June, but announced they would no longer be performing at the festival on Thursday.
San Diego Pride Festival is scheduled for July 19 to 20 in Balboa Park. Kehlani is scheduled to headline Saturday's performance. Kim Petras will headline Sunday.
The San Diego Pride performance is still listed on Kehlani's tour website.
