Selena Gomez cancels her concerts in Russia after being denied a visa due to her involvement in the country's anti-gay legislation, according to the Huffington Post.
The singer had been slated to perform at St. Petersburg's Ice Palace on Sept. 23 and Moscow's Olimpiisky Stadium on Sept. 25. Prior to the cancelation of these two shows, Gomez was facing pressure to take a stand on LGBT rights in the former Soviet Union as the subject of a Change.org petition.
The petition called on Gomez to speak out and "let LGBT folks in Russia know that we stand with them, and that they are not alone." It reached over 1,000 signatures before the news of Gomez's denied visa became public.
John Becker, petition author and LGBT blogger at Bilerico, said in a statement to The Huffington Post: "This shows that the Russian government is on the edge, it's nervous, and it's aware of the bruising its reputation has taken in the wake of their anti-gay crackdown.
For the first time since the end of the Yeltsin administration, more Americans have a negative perception of Russia, and it's clearly the country's crackdown on LGBT rights has made a difference here.
This cancellation of Selena Gomez's visa shows that the Russian government is sensitive and on the defense, and shows that the pressure from people all around the world and the backlash against these laws in potentially strong. They're afraid to have someone like Selena Gomez come in and potentially use her platform to advance LGBT rights."
According to a story on German site Spiegel, "The concert organizer Jewgeni Finkelschtejn warned that the new rules would harm the country tremendously. There is a risk that prominent artists could renounce performances in Russia in the future, he said to the state agency Ria Novosti."
