Bruce Springsteen has cancelled his Sunday show in Greensboro, North Carolina, in response to a controversial law passed in the state that limits the rights of the LGBT community.
HB2 – known officially as the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act – dictates what bathrooms transgender people are allowed to use.
Springsteen wrote in a statement on his Facebook page, that the law ‘attacks the rights of LGBT citizens’:
Posted by Bruce Springsteen on Friday, 8 April 2016
‘The Boss’ has since announced tickets will be refunded at point of purchase.
This new bill essentially requires transgender people to use bathrooms and locker rooms that were designated for ‘their biological sex’.
But now, a U.S. congressman -Rep. Mark Walker – who represents portions of Greensboro is accusing Bruce of being a ‘bully’ for cancelling the gig.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, he said:
It’s disappointing he’s not following through on his commitments. We’ve got other artists coming soon — Def Leppard, Justin Bieber. I’ve never been a Bieber fan, but I might have to go. Maybe artists who weren’t ‘born to run’ deserve a little bit more support. Bruce is known to be on the radical left and he’s got every right to be so, but I consider this a bully tactic. It’s like when a kid gets upset and says he’s going to take his ball and go home.
Surely if you guys weren’t so bigoted against transgender people in the first place, maybe, just maybe, this kind of stunt wouldn’t have to be pulled to get your attention.
Just a thought.