In case you missed it, people have been protesting against Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner’s controversial real estate project in Albania. Pop star Dua Lipa says she finds these protesters “inspiring.”
Ivanka and Jared are planning on developing a luxury resort on the island of Sazan. Protesters are concerned about government corruption and damage to the environment. Thousands of people have taken to the streets to show that they oppose the luxury tourism development, and the protests have been going on for weeks now.
Dua Lipa, who has Kosovan Albanian parents, recently spoke up about the controversy.
Dua Lipa speaks out about the Albania protests: "I find it so inspiring to see how much people really care. You know, day after day they're hitting the streets, because the government has opened up this part of a beautiful nature reserve to a high-end beachfront development. And… pic.twitter.com/3SEVdJ9Rqv
— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) July 15, 2026
A lot of fans had been waiting for her to say something about it. She did so while in conversation with Albanian academic and author Lea Ypi as part of her Service95 Book Club podcast. Reflecting on the ongoing protests, the pop star said, “I find it so inspiring to see how much people really care.”
The way that the Albanian government has handled the situation has angered people. Protesters are bothered by the luxury resort project itself, but also by the lack of transparency from the government, along with the fact that the Albanian parliament amended legislation in 2024 that made it easier for Ivanka and Jared to actually move forward with this project.
And Dua also addressed this on the podcast.
“What I actually find concerning is the principle that the government could just change the law to remove the environmental protection without any kind of public consultation,” she said.
A lot of the pop star’s fans didn’t disagree with her take. On some level, some people even appreciated what she said. But many felt it was too little too late.
On Reddit, a few critics described what she said as the “bare minimum” and pointed out that people have been urging her to comment on the controversial project for months now.
“I hope I’m wrong, but her comments do feel like a last minute PR move,” someone wrote. “The protests in Albania have been receiving global attention for well over a month, and her silence hadn’t gone unnoticed.”
And another person added, “under every post about her excessive wedding and vacations in private jets around the world, I saw comments from Albanians asking ‘when are you going to speak about the protests?’… oh well, better late than never, i guess.”
Clearly, staying out of politics has not stopped Ivanka from being at the center of controversies.
She might not be working for her controversial father anymore, but people still can’t stop talking about her and her husband because of their involvement in this project. At the end of May, Ivanka even spoke about the luxury resort project on the Founders podcast, which really rubbed people the wrong way.
Ivanka said she “found” the island while “on a friend’s boat.” She described the project as “massive in scale” and said, “We developed the opportunity to help realize its potential and transform it.”
She said they “were just captivated” when they saw it. “And it stayed with us ever since,” she claimed.
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