Music

Anti-gay laws bar Selena Gomez from performing in Russia

by Tyler Munro

via Facebook

Selena Gomez has had her Russian Visa denied, cancelling two upcoming concerts in St. Petersburg and Moscow for what the Moscow Times is reporting as an after-effect of the country’s inhuman anti-gay laws.

As The Atlantic points out, the decision is a curious one, since both Cher and Elton John are expected to perform in Russia later this year. Still, this isn’t unforseable. In Russia, Vladimir Putin’s oppressive laws have made it virtually illegal to even acknowledge that homosexuality exists, and implying that they deserve equal rights is a jailable offence.

Putin has used the country’s children to justify these inexusible laws, saying that the Russian children can’t be corrupted by these nontraditional thoughts. And while Gomez is far from a preacher, she’s a gay rights supporter whose fanbase is mostly kids.