Chris Brown’s planned tour of Australia and New Zealand could be cancelled because of his past domestic violence history.
An Australian government minister has indicated the R&B star won’t be allowed to tour the country this December because of his criminal conviction for assaulting Rihanna in 2009 (he also spent 108 days in a Los Angeles county last year for violating parole after assaulting a stranger).
Speaking at the Thursday launch of a federal initiative to prevent domestic violence, Michaelia Cash said she would recommend that immigration minister Peter Dutton refuse the 26-year-old singer a visa on character grounds.
“People need to understand if you are going to commit domestic violence and then you want to travel around the world, there are going to be countries that say to you: `You cannot come in because you are not of the character we expect in Australia,'” said Cash, who is now minister for women following a Cabinet reshuffle this week. “This is a government that is not afraid to say: `no,'” she added.
Brown’s four-date One Hell of a Nite Tour of Australia is due to kick off Dec. 9 at Perth Arena, before visiting Melbourne (Dec. 12), Sydney (Dec. 14) and concluding Dec. 16 at Brisbane Entertainment Centre.
Activist group GetUp! launched a petition last Friday calling for Brown to be refused entry to Australia because of his background of violence against women. “Speaking out against Chris Brown has nothing to do with pop music,” the organization says, “and everything to do with men’s violence against women.” More than 10,000 people have signed up.
According to reports, commercial radio network Nova FM has backed out its arrangement to support the tour. A story on Brown’s visit published on Nova’s website has been taken down.
The New Zealand leg of the singer’s tour is also on shaky ground. An immigration official there said last week he would be ineligible for a visa unless “given a special direction” in light of earlier decisions from U.K. and Canadian officials to deny him entry.
Just to provide a little color, Tyler, the Creator nixed his Australian tour last month in the wake of a campaign to block his entry due to his history of violent and misogynistic lyrics. Tyler, unlike Brown, hasn’t served time.
My two-cents: As an adult, you have to be accountable for your actions. And as pointed out above, some people – and in this case places – are not so quick to forget and forgive. It is what it is.
Source: Billboard
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