ANPLenny Kuhr during a performance in Amsterdam in 2022
NOS News•yesterday, 21:18•Adjusted today, 04:37
Activists disrupted a concert by singer Lenny Kuhr in Waalwijk yesterday afternoon. Lenny Kuhr and the police confirmed this after reporting The Telegraph.
Four spectators in the audience unfurled a Palestinian flag and started shouting. “I was introducing a song when a man came up and wanted to take my place on stage. He called me a terrorist and immediately accused me of genocide,” the singer told NOS.
“Three more activists came from the back of the room, including someone who had covered his face. They seemed very aggressive.” According to Kuhr, the activists shouted the names of her children and grandchildren, who live in Israel. Her grandson is conscripted and in the army.
Kuhr’s husband immediately intervened. “He is no longer the youngest, but he calmly grabbed that man by the arm and said that he would not let his wife be labeled a murderer.” Theater staff also came to the rescue and forced the activists out of the room. “My husband wanted to talk to them, but they shouted and kept shouting. They were beyond reason.”
Additional card control
When officers arrived at the De Leest theater, the four had disappeared. The 74-year-old Kuhr, who is Jewish, has filed a complaint of defamation and threats. She heard from theater staff that the activists came from Amsterdam and had bought 10 tickets for her concert. “So they were planning to come with a larger group.”
Director Sander Knopper of theater De Leest confirms that ten tickets had been purchased by this group. “We also conducted an extra ticket check after the break to ensure that there were no more activists in the room.”
He says he does not know how the theater should have prevented this incident. “I’ve never experienced this before and I hope I never experience it again.”
Intimidation
After the incident, Kuhr continued with her concert. Some visitors were very shocked. “I gave my water to a woman who was crying from fear.”
Kuhr will also continue her tour. “I hope that theaters will be more alert from now on. This intimidation must stay out of the theaters. I hope that art can continue as usual.”