Melbourne: Lady Gaga manager Troy Carter has revealed that the popstar would rather cancel dates in her world tour than make changes to appease censors and religious groups.
Carter said that in any case, nothing would appease the religious hardliners who have denounced Gaga in South Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines since her tour kicked off in Asia.
“We’ll skip them,” News.com.au quoted Carter as telling a music conference in Singapore.
He insisted that Gaga would not tone down any upcoming concerts.
“We play the show as it is. It’s a very specific show, it’s a very specific audience,” he said.
Conservative Christians in South Korea and the Philippines, and militant Islamic groups in Indonesia, have accused the provocative US singer of espousing blasphemy and devil-worship.
Indonesian police are refusing to issue a permit for her June 3 show in Jakarta after threats of violence from the militant groups, but the promoters say they are still fighting to stage the event.
Carter said the fervid opposition was more a rejection of everything the ‘Born This Way’ hitmaker represents than anything to do with her wardrobe or on-stage behaviour.
“I don’t think this has anything to do with Gaga as much as it has to do with -- you know, it’s just a big cultural and generational gap that is happening over there.
“You are dealing with a few different things, you are dealing with politics... you are dealing with religion. It’s a little bit more complicated than her changing her outfits,” the manager said.
This week in Manila, Philippine censors were on hand to ensure the popstar’s act did not breach permit terms banning nudity, blasphemy and lewd conduct. She is next due to perform in Bangkok on Friday, before four gigs in Singapore. After that is supposed to come the June 3 concert in Jakarta.
The singer took to her Twitter account this week, saying she would perform solo if necessary, rather than bow to demands from Indonesian censors or the threats of violence.
Lady Gaga is expected to do 110 shows this year following the huge success of her album ‘Born This Way’, which has sold nearly six million copies worldwide since it was released in May 2011.
ANI