NBC 7 San Diego Spotlights The Coalition’s Role in Pride Festival Controversy

In a televised segment and detailed online report, NBC 7 San Diego highlighted the Coalition’s leadership in bringing attention to the violent rhetoric against the Jewish community repeatedly promoted by Kehlani, the booked headliner for the San Diego Pride Festival. 

The coverage included an interview with Adam Maslia, director of The Finest Community Coalition, who drew attention to NBC 7 that Kehlani has repeatedly amplified calls for an intifada, a phrase synonymous with violent action targeting Jews. 

NBC’s report gave significant weight to the Coalition’s central argument: that Kehlani’s public amplification of antisemitic messages, particularly in the wake of recent attacks such as in Boulder, CO and D.C., has created an unsafe and exclusionary environment for Jewish San Diegans—particularly Jews that are a part of the LGBTQ+ community. 

The segment also connected the Coalition’s efforts to broader consequences facing San Diego Pride: the withdrawal of three City Councilmembers, and San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, who all cited safety concerns for Jewish San Diegans.

NBC 7’s coverage marks a critical moment in the public discourse, giving further mainstream visibility to the concerns surrounding platforming a singer who loudly espouses antisemitic language. 

The story adds to a growing wave of media attention—local, and national, and international—focused on the Coalition’s advocacy and putting increased pressure on San Diego Pride to do the right thing and commit to resisting antisemitism.