You probably know Maluma — he’s a Colombian superstar known for songs like “Corazón” and “Felices los 4.”
Well, this week Maluma went viral while doing an interview to promote “Tukoh Taka,” the official FIFA Fan Festival Anthem.
The interviewer asked him about why he would participate in the World Cup this year, considering it’s in Qatar, a country that’s been at the center of controversy for human rights violations.
Basically what happened was this: Qatar, which is suuuuper small, was selected to host the World Cup years ago. However, it had no way of sustaining this — no stadium, hotels, etc. So, they had to turn to migrant workers to build these things. But the workers suffered abuse and had to work in faulty infrastructure, which ultimately resulted in thousands of deaths. According to a report by The Guardian, “More than 6,500 migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have died in Qatar since it won the right to host the World Cup 10 years ago.”
Maluma said, “Yeah, but it’s something I can’t resolve. I just came here to enjoy life, to enjoy soccer — the party of soccer. It’s not actually something I need to be involved with. I’m here enjoying my music — playing soccer too.”
The interviewer pressed him further, intimating that he was “white-washing” the situation.
“Do I have to answer that question?” Maluma said, clearly agitated.
Maluma then put his microphone down and got up.
“You’re rude,” he said as he stormed off.
“This is what people say — this is what people think,” the interviewer said. Maluma did not respond.
Maluma has not commented on the situation, but we will update you if he does.
