Nelly Furtado to donate Gaddafi concert fees

Grammy Award winning artist Nelly Furtado plans to donate the $1 million booty she had collected while performing at a private concert for Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and his family in 2007 in Italy.

The Canadian singer is the first celebrity to come forward and admit that she had done so and tweeted the same on micro blogging site Twitter, saying: “In 2007, I received 1million$ from the Qaddafi clan to perform a 45 min. Show for guests at a hotel in Italy. I am going to donate the $ [sic].”

A representative of Universal Music, Furtado’s label, confirmed the tweet Monday, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). However, there is no news of which charity the money will be going to.

The news comes hot on the heels of a report by the whistle blowing WikiLeaks that stated the Gaddafi clan spent lavishly on entertainers over the years, roping in top artistes to private islands for intimate evenings.

Grammy winners Beyonce Knowles and Usher reportedly performed for Gaddafi’s son Muatassim at this year’s New Year Eve party on the Caribbean island of St Barts, each for a cool $1m.

A year earlier, Saif Al Islam El Gaddafi, another Gaddafi son, also paid Mariah Carey $1 million to sing just four songs at the New Year bash.

Back in 2006, the Gaddafis had supposedly roped in Lionel Richie to the North African country to perform. The concert was allegedly marking the 20 th anniversary of the a US raid on Libya.

While the truth will never be known until the A-listers step forth and admit to this, fans on Twitter have lauded Furtado for having the courage to step forward at a time when the world is condemning and disassociating themselves from anything Gaddafi.

If a suggestion Furtado: maybe using the money to fund the relief supplies for the refugees in Libya will not be amiss.