The Questionable Music Taste of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad

  • Share
  • Read Later
Carlos Alvarez / Getty Images

President Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma attend the Spanish Royal Gala in Madrid, Spain.

On Wednesday, the Guardian published a collection of 3,000 emails that they believe were sent by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his wife. It seems that during uprisings that have left more than 8,000 dead, they still made time for Harry Potter, America’s Got Talent and shopping.

(PHOTOS: The Uprising in Syria Rages On)

And judging from his recent iTunes orders, Assad has been listening to some pretty eclectic music. He’s purchased everything from Lebanese singer Nasri Shamseddine and Brit sensation Leona Lewis to LMFAO, Lil Wayne and Right Said Fred (best known for “I’m Too Sexy”). He’s even worked in a little from country star Blake Shelton and a lot of Chris Brown. The details of his downloads all-too-naturally inspired a Spotify playlist from Gawker, and drew criticism on Twitter:

[tweet https://twitter.com/benad36/status/180060941814206466%5D

While the president rocked out, his wife spent thousands of dollars shopping online for furniture, chandeliers, candlesticks, jewelry and even a chocolate fondue set. See more about the implications of these emails from TIME’s Tony Karon over at Global Spin.

MORE: One Year Into Syria’s Bloody Rebellion, the Assads Are Eating Fondue and Watching Harry Potter