Singing for Qaddafi.

• Position: Middle East - Muammar al-Qaddafi - Brief article

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Their business is music, so why have Beyonce, Mariah Carey, Nelly Furtado, and other pop icons become entangled in a political mess? Each of them was once hired by the son of Libya's ruthless dictator, Muammar el-Qaddafi, to perform at private parties for at least $1 million a pop. (Rapper 50 Cent also performed for an undisclosed amount.) The appearances came under fire in February amid an uprising by Libyans trying to oust their oppressive leader (just as Tunisians and Egyptians did earlier this year). The pop stars say they didn't realize they were accepting the steep...