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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Gaga's sold-out gig in Indonesia cancelled

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 05/16/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

LADY Gaga haters gonna hate -- and, occasionally, they'll create enough of a stink to force the pop star out of a country.

Gaga, who's currently on tour in Asia, was supposed to bring her Born This Way Ball to Indonesia June 3. Reuters reports that she's cancelling the show, though. A group of Islamic extremists protested the singer's concert plans, labelling her "vulgar" and a threat to the nation's moral fibre. But a threat to a pop star's safety -- and, potentially, the public's -- trumps the threat of seeing Gagz in a T-bone G-string. According to the Associated Press, some of the singer's Indonesian detractors said they'd use physical force to keep her from entering the country, and, unable to guarantee security at her show, the country's national police revoked a permit for the pop star's upcoming gig.

The Jakarta date was going to be the largest on Gaga's ongoing tour, and according to AP, the Born This Way singer had already sold out the city's 52,000-seat Gelora Bung Karno stadium. (It's still unclear whether fans will get their money back.)

Apparently unaware of Gagz's warm-and-fuzzy contributions to popular culture -- notably her anti-bullying crusade -- the head of one extremist group, the Islamic Defender Front, issued this statement to Reuters: "She's a vulgar singer who wears only panties and a bra when she sings and she stated she is the envoy of the devil's child and that she will spread satanic teaching....This is dangerous."

Gaga's Born This Way Ball launched last month and has previously faced opposition from conservative groups. Her South Korean shows, for example, were made 18+ events after protests about her shows' content.

-- Postmedia News

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 16, 2012 D2

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