Pop star Selena Gomez has quietly canceled her August tour dates in Guangzhou and Shanghai, if rumors are to be believed she was forced to do so by the Chinese government, and not just because they don’t like her music.
The reputable-sounding “Shady Music Facts” has posted a photo of the American pop princess looking up into the eyes of none other than the Dalai Lama:
Due to this image of her & the Dalai Llama. Selena Gomez has been BANNED from China. Her shows there are cancelled. pic.twitter.com/HKE70fIRxS
— Shady Music Facts (@musicnews_shade) April 18, 2016
The picture appears to be from two years, when both Gomez and the Tibetan spiritual leader were in Vancouver to host We Day, a youth empowerment project that takes place in cities around the US and Canada. According to a Daily Mail report, the singer captioned the pic: “words of wisdom. #speechless.” Here’s another pic:
If Gomez was in fact banned from China because of her photos with the Dalai Lama, she would be in some celebrated company. Last year, a Maroon 5 concert in Shanghai was canceled, possibly because one member went to His Holiness’s b-day party.
Later in year, Bon Jovi’s much-anticipated China-tour was scrapped, again among much intrigue. Diehard Taiwanese fans said they sent pics of the band performing five years ago in front of a backdrop of the Tibetan spiritual leader to Chinese authorities, so that the Shanghai and Beijing concerts would be canceled and Bon Jovi would be forced to perform another night in Taipei. It worked, sorta.
Fellow American band Linkin Park was banned from China for six years after members were photographed getting chummy with the Dalai Lama at a conference in Los Angeles. And Bjork famously ended her song “Declare Independence” by shouting “Tibet! Tibet!” at a 2008 show in Shanghai, earning her the boot.
The former Bieber-babe actually started a Weibo account back in 2012. Currently, she’s up to almost 900,000 fans. Yesterday, she made a bilingual post saying that “I can’t wait to see everyone on the revival tour!”
If anyone knows Gomez’s catalog, now is the time to insert your own pun.
[h/t Mediaite]
