August 14, 2015 | Arts / Entertainment

Madonna is so over Russia

MadonnaMadonna has announced that she will no longer perform in Russia until it ends its homophobic ways.
 
"I won’t appear in Moscow or St Petersburg anymore, because I don’t want to perform in places where being homosexual is tantamount to a crime," the singer told Entertainment Weekly.
 
She is also saving herself a legal headache. In Russia, the promotion of homosexuality - basically any positive portrayals of the LGBT community - is against the law. Her last appearance, in 2012, almost resulted in a $10 million fine.
 
During that last visit, she told fans to "show your love and appreciation to the gay community," and also gave out pink wristbands to the audience.
 
"In Russia, [pop stars] have fantastic earnings, and this allows them to forget about the problems of human rights," Yury Gavrikov, the head of the St Petersburg branch of Gay Russia, said at the time. "If people like Madonna boycott their concerts, particularly in St Petersburg, that could have economic consequences and that is important, while declarations of support for gay rights at concerts mean nothing."
 
Madonna is very popular in Russia. Her last album, Rebel Heart, topped the charts there.
 
Will her stand make much of a difference? Probably not. However, if other celebs follow suit, it might force the country to start reconsidering its hateful laws.

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