LOS ANGELES — Bryan Adams has canceled a concert scheduled for April 14 in Mississippi to protest a new state law that critics describe as discriminatory.
“I cannot in good conscience perform in a state where certain people are being denied their civil rights due to their sexual orientation,” the Canadian rocker wrote on Instagram.
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant last week signed a controversial “religious freedom” bill that critics and business interests in the state say is discriminatory against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.
Bryant said he signed the bill into law “to protect sincerely held religious beliefs and moral convictions of individuals, organizations and private associations from discriminatory action by state government.”
Adams said he hopes that Mississippi “will right itself,” and said he looks forward to the day when he “can come back and perform for all of my many fans.”
Bryan Adams performs on stage after being awarded the Golden Camera, a German media prize organzied by TV magazine Hoerzu, 09 February 2005 in Berlin. Adams was awarded the prize in the category “Pop International”. (PHOTO: MICHAEL KAPPELER/AFP/Getty Images)
Mississippi’s law is part of a wave of legislation seen as “anti gay” that has prompted corporations and individuals to use their economic muscle in protest. Bruce Springsteen, for example, has canceled a show in North Carolina to stand in “solidarity” with those protesting a similar law in that state.
— Eliott McLaughlin and Joe Sutton contributed to this article.
