Superstar Bruce Springsteen is the latest to protest the North Carolina’s “Religious Freedom” law. The legendary musician announced Friday that his upcoming show in Greensboro, North Carolina, has been canceled in “solidarity” with those protesting the measure.
Springsteen and his E Street Band were slated to perform at the Greensboro Coliseum this Sunday. The roughly 15,000 ticketholders will all be eligible for a refund.
The newly enacted law requires individuals to use bathrooms that correspond to the gender on their birth certificate, and has drawn fierce criticism for excluding legal protections from gay and transgender people.
“To my mind, it’s an attempt by people who cannot stand the progress our country has made in recognizing the human rights of all of our citizens to overturn that progress,” Springsteen said in a statement.
“Taking all of this into account, I feel that this is a time for me and the band to show solidarity for those freedom fighters. As a result, and with deepest apologies to our dedicated fans in Greensboro, we have canceled our show scheduled for Sunday, April 10th,” Springsteen said.
“Some things are more important than a rock show,” he added, “and this fight against prejudice and bigotry — which is happening as I write — is one of them.”
After Bruce Springsteen announced the cancelation of his North Carolina concert in light of new law passed in the state that has been criticized as discriminatory to LGBT rights, E Street Band’s Steven Van Zandt further expanded on the decision.
“We just felt the issue was just too important,” the guitarist told reporters backstage at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Friday. “This really vile and evil discrimination is starting to spread state to state and we thought we better take a stand right now and catch it early and maybe try and stop it. At least set some kind of example for others.”