Snoop Dogg has unintentionally ruffled some international feathers after he mistakenly referred to a territory in the South Caucasus as belonging to an enemy country.
On Monday (September 4), the West Coast rap legend announced that he would be performing in Armenia — a country in Asia — later this month, but mentioned the Republic of Artsakh as well, which is not apart of Armenia.
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“My beloved Armenian people,” Snoop wrote on Instagram. “I am thinking of you and sending love to all Armenian people in Armenia, Artsakh and around the wor[l]d. I’m bringing love and peace and wishing everyone strength. Im coming, September 23rd!!!!!!”
Artsakh is a breakaway state on the border of Eastern Europe and West Asia, whose territory is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan — which has been locked in a long-running and at times bloody dispute with Armenia over control of the region.
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In the late 1980s, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resulted in roughly thirty thousand casualties and hundreds of thousands of refugees, according to Global Conflict Tracker.
Even after a ceasefire was declared in 1994, fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops broke out again in late 2020, while in recent months blockades have been installed, limiting travel and supplies into Artsakh.
Tensions still remain high between both countries, as evidenced by the outrage in the comments section on Snoop Dogg’s post.
“For years, the Azerbaijani territory was occupied by Armenia, and now you want to say that Artsakh is Armenia?” one angry Azerbaijani fan wrote.
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“This shows that you do not know anything about the country that has occupied OUR AZERBAIJANI territories for over 30 years, in which you are holding a concert, shame and disgrace, money will not cover your conscience! Karabakh is Azerbaijan!”
Another added: “How much did they pay you to write this nonsense? That place you wrote doesn’t exist and never existed. It has always been Karabakh, part of Azerbaijan and always will be!
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“If you truly want to help people in need, you should be helping everyone, no matter what background they have! You’re only spreading hate, creating separation and division between people.”
Someone else even threatened legal action against Tha Doggfather for his geographical gaffe, warning him: “Respect the international law, otherwise you will be sued! #noartsakh there is no any Artsakh on the political map of the World.”
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Snoop Dogg may not be a popular man in Azerbaijan right now, but he has endear himself to fellow creatives closer to home. In July, the 51-year-old canceled his shows at the Hollywood Bowl in October in solidarity with those on the front lines of the writer and actors’ strikes.
The concerts also boasted Dr. Dre on the lineup and were supposed to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Snoop’s debut album Doggystyle, which arrived in November 1993.
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“We regret to inform you that due to the ongoing strike and the uncertainty when this will be over, we need to cancel the Hollywood Bowl show,” Snoop announced on social media.
“We stand in solidarity with all of our brothers and sisters in the WGA and SAG-AFTRA during this difficult time and remain hopeful that the AMPTP will come back to the negotiating table with a REAL proposal and we can all get back to work.”
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