After revealing to a group of about 70 concerned students at a town-hall style meeting on Tuesday afternoon that a decision regarding Slope Day would be made “within 24 hours,” President Michael Kotlikoff announced that Kehlani’s invitation to perform was rescinded in an email to the student body on Wednesday morning.
In the email, Kotlikoff wrote that it was not the intention for Kehlani’s slope day performance to have “injected division and discord into Slope Day.”
“For that reason, I am rescinding Kehlani’s invitation and expect a new lineup for a great 2025 Slope Day to be announced shortly,” Kotlikoff wrote.
This decision comes amid a funding freeze of over $1 billion in federal contracts and over 90 stop-work orders sent to the University. A Trump administration official confirmed that the funding freeze was in connection with ongoing Title VI investigations.
Cornell, along with 59 other universities, was warned on March 10 by the U.S. Department of Education to address antisemitism on their campuses. The ED statement specified that the letters were addressed to educational institutions with ongoing investigations for Title VI violations related to antisemitic harassment and discrimination.
Kehlani was announced on April 10 as the headliner for Slope Day, the annual campus-sponsored concert on Libe Slope following the last day of classes. Following the announcement, dissatisfaction surfaced as students and parents learned of the artist’s anti-Israel rhetoric and social media presence.
The announcement to replace Kehlani from the Slope Day lineup contradicts Kotlikoff’s original claim that it was “too late to secure another performer that will be acceptable or appropriate for Slope Day” at a Thursday Student Assembly meeting.
On Tuesday, Kotlikoff met with approximately 70 students to discuss Kehlani performing at Slope Day in a town-hall style meeting advertised to members of pro-Israel campus groups and historically Jewish Greek life organizations. Here, Provost Kavita Bala revealed that Kotlikoff would announce his decision regarding the event within 24 hours.
In the email, Kotlikoff noted that he had heard “grave concerns” from many distressed about the choice in performer, who he wrote had “espoused antisemitic, anti-Israel sentiments in performances, videos, and on social media.”
“While any artist has the right in our country to express hateful views, Slope Day is about uniting our community, not dividing it,” Kotlikoff wrote.
A joint Instagram post with Cornellians for Israel, Alums for Campus Fairness, StandWithUs Campus and Stand With Us also cited screenshots of Kehlani’s Instagram which she referred to Zionists as the “scum of the earth” and said they should “go to hell.”
The post also references Kehlani’s “Next 2 U” music video, released in June 2024, opens with a message that flashes “Long Live the Intifada” and features dancers in keffiyehs waving Palestinian flags.
Kotlikoff acknowledged that while some students may celebrate or criticize rescinding Kehlani’s Slope Day invitation, he believed that it was the “right thing to do” to ensure campus safety at such a “high-profile event.”
Kotlikoff wrote that he talked to members of the Slope Day Programming Board, who agree that the selection has “compromised what is meant to be an inclusive event.”
“Going forward, we will work together to revise the process for researching and selecting performers for this important annual event,” Kotlikoff wrote.
Dorothy France-Miller '27 is the Managing Editor of the Cornell Daily Sun. She is a sophomore studying communication in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
