Jennifer Lopez Forced to Apologise for Singing Happy Birthday to a Dictator

Jennifer Lopez has been forced to apologize after a concert in Turkmenistan on Satruday night because she sang 'Happy Birthday' to the repressive dictator of the country's brutal oppressive regime.

Lopez reportedly changed into a traditional Turkmen outfit during her show and personally serenaded Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow

- whose government is accused of arbitrarily arresting and torturing political dissidents, according to the Daily Mail.

Human Rights Watch ranks Turkmenistan as 'among the most repressive in the world.' The human rights group says the former Soviet republic imposes 'draconian restrictions on freedom of expression and association.'

The concert was sponsored by China National Petroleum Corp - a major investor in Turmenistan's booming gas industry and was meant to celebrate Berdimuhamedo's 56th birthday.

Lopez released a statement after the concert apologizing for singing for the president and saying she never would have attended the concert if she had known the country's human rights record.

The statement said the event was vetted by Lopez's representatives, but she wouldn't have attended if she had known about the accusations. According to the statement, the birthday song was a last-minute request made by the company to Lopez and she 'graciously obliged.'

 [daily mail]