Iggy Azalea will no longer be performing at this weekend’s Pittsburgh Pride, amidst protest from the city’s LGBTIQA community who have criticised some of her past tweets, labelling them homophobic and racist.
Azalea announced the cancellation via her Twitter account on Monday, June 8, saying that her involvement “would only serve to further distract from the true purpose of the event”.
A message to Pittsburgh pic.twitter.com/Jm6ZyX0Xyc
— IGGY AZALEA (@IGGYAZALEA) June 9, 2015
“I am a firm believer in equality. Unfortunately in the past as a young person, I used words I should not have,” the 25-year-old said. “I meant no harm and deeply regret ever uttering those words.”
According to Billboard, some of the now-deleted posts read, “When guys whisper in each others ears I always think its kinda homo” and “wondered why my butt felt like it was about to grow legs, flip me off & walk away. then I remembered i played soccer yestrdy w 5 dyke bitches.”
Members of the community, including Pittsburgh City Council President, Bruce Kraus, boycotted the event because of Iggy’s planned performance, which was scheduled for 7pm on June 13. “I have serious concerns about the direction of the Delta Foundation and the exclusionary choices it is making,” Bruce said in a statement.
Some groups were reportedly also planning alternative protest events to be held during Azalea’s performance.
The Delta Foundation responded to concerns over Iggy on its Facebook page. “If we believed that Iggy Azalea was racist or homophobic, we certainly would not have selected her to headline Pittsburgh Pride,” read the post. “We also don’t believe she would have agreed to come if she was racist or homophobic.”
The news follows the cancellation of Iggy’s Great Escape Tour, which was binned because Iggy felt she deserved “a break” and had a “creative change of heart”. Pittsburgh Pride was one of the limited special performances which was still kept on the books. Sorry, Azaleans.
[Via Billboard]
