Organisers of Manchester Pride have announced the withdrawal of internet parody duo, Queens of Pop, from their main stage line-up.
Chief Executive, John Stewart, said:
“Following discussions with the group, Queens of Pop have announced they will not be performing as part of the Manchester Pride main stage line-up.
“Manchester Pride and the group shared concerns that the controversy surrounding their appearance has threatened to overshadow the celebration of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender life in Greater Manchester and divert campaigning effort from shining a light on the very real prejudice and discrimination faced by LGBT people around the globe. We respect that decision.
“We hope that our efforts can now focus on organising four days of first class entertainment over the Manchester Pride Big Weekend, promoting the diverse range of events on offer throughout August, as part of the Manchester Pride Fringe, and raising as much money as possible for LGBT and HIV charities and community groups.”
The duos withdrawal followed the broadcast of their latest video, ‘will i am’ which caused controversy on social network sites and among organisers of other Prides. Organisers of Black Pride wrote to Manchester Pride expressing concerns about the racist nature of the video and disagreeing with their planned appearance on Manchester Prides main stage. The video caused considerable offence to many people and has now been withdrawn from their site.
The Queens of Pop issued the following statement on their facebook page:
“So after much deliberation we have decided to pull out of Manchester Pride. We would like to thank the organisers but we don’t want the controversy to over shadow the event.
“Like lots of comedy our show is edgy, provocative and sometimes close to the bone and that wont be changing.
“To our Manchester fans – you will still be able to see us over the Pride weekend – details will follow.”
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