In her defence, that law practically begged to be broken. Madonna, in a single concert, managed to enrage a city and break a new anti-gay law. What did she do exactly?
Madonna rode the wave of controversy in Moscow Wednesday, with a public expression of support for the jailed Russian women of punk-rock band Pussy Riot. And yesterday, the songstress hit St. Petersburg with a healthy dose of good old-fashioned free speech.
Let’s start at the beginning, shall we? Back in March, St. Petersburg was the fourth city in Russia to implement a new set of laws banning “homosexual propaganda” which, to quote, criminalised, “public action aimed at propagandising sodomy, lesbianism, bisexualism, and transgenderism among minors.” So basically, for the protection of the impressionable children, this “manipulated” information – meaning gay people and the gay lifestyle – must henceforth be eradicated. This is a part of a nation-wide effort of the Russian government and the strict Orthodox Church to… Well, we’re not quite sure what the final product is meant to be. Our best bet is tightened regulations of liberty qualifiers to promote a more stringent control of the Russian people (mind and body).
This is the city, of all people, Madonna landed in… Of course, she’ll break all the rules. Upon entering the concert arena, the audience members were handed pink bracelets asked to be worn as an indicator of “tolerance for the gay community.” During the show, Madge made a speech for “respect, tolerance and love” and stripped down to black lingerie to reveal the words “No Fear” stenciled on her back.
Gee, we hope that didn’t ruffle any feathers…
Before the concert even took place, there were several “anti-Madonna” protests held in the city; one even involved a priest using holy water to cleanse St. Petersburg’s Palace Square where Madonna performed in 2009.
Now, the city’s municipal legislator Vladimir Milonov claims Madge violated St. Petersburg’s anti-gay law, since during the review of the concert’s videotape there are minors visibly present, thus she was propogandising sodomy to children. He is calling for the singer or the organisers to be brought to justice.
Madonna certainly surpassed our expectations of law-breaking behaviour and we love it! We appreciate her stubbornness, rebellion and big mouth.
Opinions?
Photo courtesy of WENN.com
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