Robyn slams minister over 'racist' cake cutting
Swedish pop star Robyn has criticised the culture minister Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth for her part in the 'racist' cake controversy which drew criticism from afro-Swedish groups and led to calls for her to resign her post.
"We are a multicultural country now, it is time to start acting like one," Robyn said in an interview with Rodeo magazine.
Adelsohn Liljeroth's participation in a ceremony involving a cake, designed by artist Makode Linde and depicting a nude African woman, sparked cries of racism and drew criticism from a Brussels-based group.
Robyn, one of Sweden's most well-known international stars and currently on tour with British band Coldplay, argued that Adelsohn Liljeroth should simply have refused to cut the cake.
"She should have put her hands on her hips and said 'I am not going to cut that cake. If someone else is stupid enough to do so, go right ahead'," Robyn told Rodeo.
Robyn added that she has lost all faith in the cultural minister, although conceded that she had little confidence in Adelsohn Liljeroth even prior to the controversial incident.
The minister since apologized for the offence caused by her involvement in the cake cutting ceremony, which was hosted by Stockholm's Moderna Museet in April.
In her statement she however claimed that while the piece was "provocative", the imagery had been misunderstood.
Makode Linde, a black artist known in Sweden for provocative work that aims to challenge racial stereotypes, was left mostly bemused by the furore over his work.
"That we live in a racist society and that I'm treated differently because of my skin colour is something I realized early in my life," he wrote in an opinion article in the Aftonbladet newspaper at the time.
"It's only when hidden racism is made visible that it can destroyed. That's what my work as an artist tries to highlight."
The Local/pvs
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"We are a multicultural country now, it is time to start acting like one," Robyn said in an interview with Rodeo magazine.
Adelsohn Liljeroth's participation in a ceremony involving a cake, designed by artist Makode Linde and depicting a nude African woman, sparked cries of racism and drew criticism from a Brussels-based group.
Robyn, one of Sweden's most well-known international stars and currently on tour with British band Coldplay, argued that Adelsohn Liljeroth should simply have refused to cut the cake.
"She should have put her hands on her hips and said 'I am not going to cut that cake. If someone else is stupid enough to do so, go right ahead'," Robyn told Rodeo.
Robyn added that she has lost all faith in the cultural minister, although conceded that she had little confidence in Adelsohn Liljeroth even prior to the controversial incident.
The minister since apologized for the offence caused by her involvement in the cake cutting ceremony, which was hosted by Stockholm's Moderna Museet in April.
In her statement she however claimed that while the piece was "provocative", the imagery had been misunderstood.
Makode Linde, a black artist known in Sweden for provocative work that aims to challenge racial stereotypes, was left mostly bemused by the furore over his work.
"That we live in a racist society and that I'm treated differently because of my skin colour is something I realized early in my life," he wrote in an opinion article in the Aftonbladet newspaper at the time.
"It's only when hidden racism is made visible that it can destroyed. That's what my work as an artist tries to highlight."
The Local/pvs
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