Russian DJ Nina Kraviz is no longer performing at Detroit's Movement Festival, according to a tweet by the event's organizers.
No reason was given. "Nina Kraviz is unable to play Movement this year," the festival tweeted Thursday afternoon. "Stay tuned for updated lineup and set times."
Kraviz had faced calls for her boycott due to past social media posts that her critics interpreted as in support of Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as her silence on the recent invasion of Ukraine. Last week, Kraviz broke her silence to release a statement on her Instagram account, saying, "It's appalling what my country’s relations with Ukraine have become," and "I am praying for peace."
Following Kraviz's post, a group called the Ukrainian-American Crisis Response Committee of Michigan released its own statement, continuing to call for her removal from the festival.
"Kraviz’s statement fails to address what have clearly been her pro-Putin attitudes," the group said. "Her refusal to acknowledge that Russia has launched an unprovoked war against Ukraine and her characterization of the Russian invasion as “her country’s relations with Ukraine” is unsatisfactory. This is the same doublespeak used by Russian state representatives like Dmitri Peskov to attempt to justify this war. Kraviz avoids engaging with these issues by claiming that she does not engage in politics — however, this is not a matter of politics, but a matter of justice."
Kraviz's alleged "pro-Putin" posts include a 2014 photo of her posing with a cardboard cutout of the Russian president, taken at the Coachella festival, as well as a 2016 tweet of a meme depicting Putin at a rave. Her publicist told Metro Times the posts were taken out of context.
Kraviz is the third artist in recent weeks to suddenly drop out of the Movement festival, which returns to Detroit's Hart Plaza for the first time since 2019. Last week, the popular dubstep artist Skrillex announced he was pulling out to focus on his new music.
"I hope you understand that this was a very difficult decision for me to make but I'll be back soon with the show you all deserve," he wrote on Instagram.
The festival announced he would be replaced with local artist GRiZ.
Then, a little more than a week before the festival, Los Angeles-based artist Flying Lotus announced he was pulling out to attend his sister's wedding.
"My lil sister is getting married and there’s no way I can miss that. Hope you’ll forgive meeeee," he tweeted Tuesday.
On Thursday, the festival announced that Flying Lotus would be performing at Movement after all, rescheduling his set for Monday. He is replacing Kraviz's spot on the schedule.
The festival says it will be releasing updated set times soon.
Movement will be held Memorial Day weekend. More information is available at movementfestival.com.
This story was updated to reflect the fact that Flying Lotus was rescheduled.
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