Australian rapper Iggy Azalea performed at the Tel Aviv Gay Pride Festival on Friday. While she was there, she told N12 that she "was surprised to receive the call to come and perform."
The Tourism Ministry initially announced on Tuesday that Azalea would be performing at the parade during her first official visit to the country.
When asked about BDS, Azalea had never even heard of the organization, stating: "BDS? What is it? Cause I don't know much, but I'm really happy to come and see for myself, I'm excited to experience something new.
"I know a lot of my fans belong to the LGBT community and I feel a special connection to them," Azalea continued. "I think maybe it's because I was an outsider, that I came a long way from being an underdog, maybe it's something they can identify with."
Azalea said she felt surprised that her music has reached all over the world, stating initially that she was "worried that people would not know the lyrics of the songs. "In the end, it was one of the best performances I have done in my life and everyone knew the lyrics," she said. "I love the culture of Turkey, the traditional food and I hope my experience in Israel will be good or even better."
"I think maybe it's because I was an outsider, that I came a long way from being an underdog, maybe it's something they can identify with."
Iggy Azalea
Other BDS controversies
Many international musicians and artists have canceled planned shows in Israel due to reoccurring pushback by the BDS movement. Their move angered a lot of Israeli fans but received high praise from the movement.
The Grammy-nominated indie band Big Thief listened to BDS's pleas and canceled two of its shows in Tel Aviv. The band's bass player is the son of an Israeli musician.
Despite these BDS boycotts, future acts making their way to Israel this year include Canadian singer Justin Bieber, American band OneRepublic and comedian Nikki Glaser.
Michael Starr contributed to this report.