Ringo Starr Cancels North Carolina Show Over ‘Bathroom Bill’
Ringo Starr is taking a stand alongside Bruce Springsteen and an ever-growing list of musicians by canceling an upcoming North Carolina concert to protest the state’s controversial HB2, also known as the “bathroom bill.”
The Beatles drummer called off the All Starr Band’s June 18th concert at Cary, North Carolina’s Koka Booth Amphitheatre over the bill, which discriminates against transgender people and the LGBT community. “I’m sorry to disappoint my fans in the area, but we need to take a stand against this hatred. Spread peace and love,” Starr said in a statement. “How sad that they feel that this group of people cannot be defended.”
Starr also called upon his fans to fight the “bigotry” and “support organizations that are fighting to overturn this law in whatever way we can.” “As Canned Heat sang, ‘Let’s work together,'” Starr said in conclusion. “And the Beatles said, ‘All you need is love.'”
Starr’s cancellation comes the same day that North Carolina governor Pat McCrory announced he would introduce new legislation to strengthen workplace protections for state employees, but not change the portion of the bill that prevents transgender people from using the restroom of the gender they associate with, the New York Times reports.
Springsteen and the E Street Band canceled their April 10th concert in Greensboro, North Carolina to protest the passing of the controversial Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act. “No other group of North Carolinians faces such a burden,” Springsteen wrote in a statement. “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.”
As part of HB2, transgender people are forced to use restrooms associated with their “biological sex,” with the LGBT community’s rights within the workplace also impacted.
“Right now, there are many groups, businesses, and individuals in North Carolina working to oppose and overcome these negative developments,” Springsteen added. “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.”