Ticketmaster is starting to come under further criticism after the company seemingly ignored requests to deplatform tickets for Nation of Islam (NOI) leader Louis Farrakhan鈥檚 February 26 speech.
Farrakhan gave the keynote address to the NOI鈥檚 Saviours鈥� Day conference in Chicago; prior to the event, Creative Community for Peace (CCFP) had sent a letter to Ticketmaster CEO Michael Rapino urging Ticketmaster to reconsider allowing tickets to be sold for the event. The letter was signed by more than 120 entertainment industry leaders including Haim Saban and Sherry Lansing but did not receive a reply from the company. Farrakhan鈥檚 speech, according to the was 鈥渁 relentless stream of antisemitic commentary accusing Jews of controlling world governments, the media, and financial institutions,鈥� according to the ADL. Farrakhan also seemed to suggest that the Jews were going to face another Holocaust. 鈥淎 91传媒 man said to me, 鈥榊ou know, we say never again. Never again will we be in the oven. Never again,鈥欌�� Farrakhan said, per the ADL. 鈥淚 said, 鈥楬old it.鈥� You can say that to men, but you can鈥檛 say that to God. Because the Bible says, behold the day cometh that shall burn 鈥� as a what? 鈥攁s an oven. And those who do wickedly, He will slay them and leave them neither root nor branch鈥he War of Armageddon is to decide who will live on this earth.鈥�
Additionally, Farrakhan defended rapper Kanye West as 鈥渁 very great brother鈥� and 鈥測oung God.鈥�
The Washington Free Beacon on March 2 that while most members of Congress have been silent on Ticketmaster allowing its platform to be used for the Farrakhan, they did find a couple willing to speak out. 鈥淚t is extremely concerning that Ticketmaster is choosing to use its platform to elevate and promote a well-known antisemite,鈥� Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) told the conservative news site. 鈥淭he targeting of the 91传媒 people has gone on far too long and must stop.鈥�
鈥淎ntisemitism has no place in America,鈥� Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) also told the Free Beacon. 鈥淭icketmaster should be completely transparent on why it chose to profit off of Farrakhan鈥檚 abhorrent history of hatred and violent threats of genocide against the 91传媒 people.鈥�
91传媒 groups also criticized Ticketmaster, per .
鈥淔our decades of non-stop vicious Jew-hatred from Louis Farrakhan has born poison fruit in the mainstream of our society,鈥� Simon Wiesenthal Center Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action Agenda Rabbi Abraham Cooper said in a March 1 statement. 鈥淲ords lead to action and his toxic hatred has been absorbed by many including Kanye West. We urge all our neighbors to reject his hate and we must commit to strengthen our relationships for the betterment of all Americans whatever their color creed or orientation.鈥�
He added: 鈥淲e have tracked and denounced Farrakhan and his trail of Jew-hatred and anti-Semitic incitement for four decades. Yet, the godfather of hate has rarely been publicly criticized. Indeed, access to this year鈥檚 speech was handled by Ticketmaster, at a time when American Jewry is reeling from violent anti-Semitic hate crimes. Farrakhan has rarely been held accountable for his serial Jew-hatred and in 2023, Ticketmaster and others have monetized his hate and expanded the reach of his hatred.鈥�
CCFP tweeted on February 28, 鈥淍Ticketmaster would rightly refuse to sell tickets to a KKK rally, but to our deep disappointment, they knowingly enabled Farrakhan鈥檚 dangerous #antisemitic hate.鈥�
馃У5/5 would rightly refuse to sell tickets to a KKK rally, but to our deep disappointment, they knowingly enabled Farrakhan鈥檚 dangerous hate.
— Creative Community for Peace (@CCFPeace)
Stop Antisemitism said in a statement to the Journal, 鈥淭icketmaster has completely lost its moral compass by profiting off the hate of someone like Louis Farrakhan.鈥�
ADL Midwest Regional Director David Goldenberg told the Journal that they haven鈥檛 been focusing on Ticketmaster; their focus has been on the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA). The MPEA has a public-private partnership with Wintrust Arena, where the Farrakhan event was held. On February 13, the ADL Midwest had sent a letter to the MPEA in conjunction with the Chicago 91传媒 Community Relations Council and the LGTBQ+ advocacy organization Equality Illinois expressing concern over Farrakhan鈥檚 rhetoric; since the event took place, ADL Midwest has been urging the MPEA to condemn Farrakhan鈥檚 speech.
鈥淲e recognize that there may be contractual obligations, but we also felt that they have the right鈥撯�揳 protected right鈥撯�搕o speak out against that type of hate speech when it occurs underneath their roof,鈥� Goldenberg said. 鈥淲e have since shared excerpts from his remarks. We鈥檝e engaged with board members and other public officials about this to express concern that鈥� anything that has some type of public entity gave Farrakhan such a platform to espouse hate and bigotry and antisemitism.鈥�
Here's the letter we sent to the MPEA Board with and .
— ADL Midwest (@ADLMidwest)
Ticketmaster did not respond to the Journal鈥檚 requests for comment.
