Cyndi Lauper Talks Keeping Controversial North Carolina Gig
While many notable musicians have canceled their North Carolina performances in opposition of the controversial “bathroom bill,” Cyndi Lauper has maintained her North Carolina tour date. The singer stopped by Late Night With Seth Meyers to explain her decision.
The “bathroom bill” enforces all people within the state to use the bathroom that matches the gender they were assigned at their birth, which discriminates against trans people.
Lauper’s decision to keep her June performance stems back to advice given to her by Harry Belafonte around the time Trayvon Martin had been murdered in Florida. Belafonte advised Lauper to maintain a Florida tour date and encouraged her to meet with Martin’s mother and support a foundation that teaches kids how to behave if the police pull them over.
For her N.C. show, her rider specifies a non-gender bathroom “just to prove not everybody’s crazy.” The venue, Duke Engergy Center for the Performing Arts, has since decided to maintain gender-neutral bathrooms at the venue. “In rock and roll, I think we should think like that,” she said. “I think we should be forward-thinking for everybody.”