Lady Gaga's 'Bad Romance' with Manila
Conservative Christian groups in the Philippines on Saturday marched near a shopping mall to demand the cancellation of Lady Gaga's concerts next week, saying her songs carried "demonic" undertones.
The protests in the heavily Catholic Philippines followed a decision this week by authorities in Indonesia, a secular state but with the world's largest Muslim population, to refuse her a permit to perform in Jakarta next month.
In Manila, dozens of anti-riot police stopped hundreds of protesters from two groups from marching to the concert venue with placards reading "Stop Lady Gaga concert" and "Don't support Lady Gaga".
-
Protests in the heavily Catholic Philippines against Lady Gaga's concerts have sprung up in Manila
A much larger group prayed and sang hymns as the performer arrived in the evening in the city. Protesters planned to hold a prayer vigil on Sunday ahead of the performances.
Concert organisers said they were aware of no plans to cancel the concerts, with fans prepared to pay up to 15,000 pesos ($350) for tickets -- in a country where the average monthly wage is about 10,000 pesos.
"We're hoping that if they will continue the concert, they should tone it down," Benny Abante, a Christian pastor, told reporters. "She should not sing songs that could offend our spiritual senses or wear bikinis in front of the crowd."
Other group members described her songs as "grossly blasphemous, immoral, lewd and carrying demonic and occultic undertones".
Protests in South Korea, which has Asia's second largest population of Christians after the Philippines, prompted authorities to bar under-18s from Lady Gaga's concert.
Comments
by littlemaki
Sunday, May 20 2012, 5:54PM
“Fans must be really upset..”
by grazzie
Sunday, May 20 2012, 1:57PM
“I am not a fan of Lady Gaga but I don't think it's fair to deny her the chance to perform just because we have varying interpretations of her songs---unless her songs explicitly mention anti-God or derogatory line against any religion. Besides, we should start giving credit to the maturity and intellect of her followers (who are mostly young) in making their choices to either just enjoy her music and artistry, or imitate her lifestyle. We cannot always shield the young from the realities, the pains and the challenges that come with growing up. They have to learn to make decisions for themselves. But, we can assure them that we are going to be there for them every step of the way.”
by IamBitten
Sunday, May 20 2012, 12:44PM
“Overreacting!”
by Jenni Kusuanco
Sunday, May 20 2012, 9:07AM
“oh that's bad for lady gaga..but we should not be judgmental :(”