Maroon 5 Cancels
North Carolina Concerts Over Trans Bathroom Law
by Daniel Nussbaum 20 May 2016
Maroon 5 cancelled
a pair of upcoming concerts in North Carolina over the state’s recent passage
of what critics call anti-transgender bathroom legislation.
In a statement
on its website Friday, the pop-rock band wrote that planned concerts
in Charlotte and Raleigh would no longer go on as scheduled.
“This was a difficult decision for us to make as a band,”
the group wrote. “We don’t want to penalize our fans in North Carolina by not
performing for them, but in the end it comes down to what we feel is morally
right.”
The Charlotte and Raleigh concerts were subsequently
removed from the band’s tour page.
North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory signed HB 2 — also known
as the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act — into law last month. The
legislation requires transgender individuals to use public restrooms that
correspond with their biological sex, and also prohibits cities within North
Carolina from enacting their own non-discrimination ordinances.
The state of North Carolina and the U.S. Justice
Department have sued
each other over the law, with the DOJ claiming that the law violates
federal civil rights laws. The state could forfeit its federal education
funding if it loses its challenge to the government.
The Obama administration has since issued a
directive to all of the nation’s public schools mandating that
children must be allowed to use the restroom that corresponds with their chosen
gender identity.
Maroon 5 — fronted by singer Adam Levine — is just the
latest high-profile musical act to cancel concerts in the state.
Bruce Springsteen, Ringo Starr, rock bands Boston and Pearl Jam,
pop-rockers Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas and theater troupe Cirque du Soleil have
all cancelled performances in North Carolina in the time since HB2’s passage.
Filmmakers Rob Reiner and Michael Moore vowed never to
film in the state again, while some artists who went on with their planned
concerts raised
money to fight the law or burned
birth certificates onstage in protest.
Maroon 5
Maroon
5 is an Arista Records artist.
Note: Pearl Jam is an Arista Records artist.
Arista Records
is a record label for Sony Music
Entertainment.
Andrew R. Lack was
the chairman for Sony Music
Entertainment, a chairman for the Bloomberg
Media Group, the president of the NBC
News, and is the chairman-appointee & former president & CEO for NBC.
Bloomberg
Media Group is a division of Bloomberg
LP.
Michael R.
Bloomberg is the founder of Bloomberg
LP, Emma Bloomberg’s daughter, was
a New York (NY) mayor, a benefactor
for the Harlem Children's Zone, and
a donor for the Robin Hood Foundation.
George
Soros was a benefactor for
the Harlem Children's Zone, and the
chairman for the Foundation to Promote
Open Society.
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Harlem Children's Zone, the Robin
Hood Foundation, and the International
Rescue Committee.
Emma Bloomberg
is Michael R. Bloomberg’s daughter,
and was the chief of staff for the Robin
Hood Foundation.
Jeff
Zucker is a director at the Robin
Hood Foundation, was the president & CEO for NBCUniversal, and an executive producer for the NBC Nightly News.
NBCUniversal is
a subsidiary of NBC.
Andrew R. Lack is
the chairman-appointee & former president & CEO for NBC, was a chairman for the Bloomberg Media Group, the president of
the NBC News, and the chairman for Sony Music Entertainment.
Arista Records
is a record label for Sony Music
Entertainment.
Maroon
5 is an Arista Records artist.
Douglas P. Morris
is the CEO for Sony Music Entertainment,
and a director at the Robin Hood
Foundation.
Clifford S.
Asness was a leadership council member for the Robin Hood Foundation, supported same-sex marriage in New York, and is a director at the International Rescue Committee.
Tom
Brokaw was a director at the Robin
Hood Foundation, an anchor for the NBC
Nightly News, and is an overseer at the International Rescue Committee.
Brian Williams is
a director at the Robin Hood Foundation,
and was an anchor for the NBC Nightly
News.
Jeff
Zucker was an executive producer for the NBC Nightly News, the president & CEO for NBCUniversal, and is a director at the Robin Hood Foundation.
NBCUniversal is
a subsidiary of NBC.
Andrew R. Lack is
the chairman-appointee & former president & CEO for NBC, was a chairman for the Bloomberg Media Group, the president of
the NBC News, and the chairman for Sony Music Entertainment.
Arista Records
is a record label for Sony Music
Entertainment.
Maroon
5 is an Arista Records artist.
Pearl
Jam is an Arista Records artist.
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