SOYUZ MAN

Elton John’s Latest Russian Adventure is Making Us Nervous

eltonjohn-6-e1353202141321Oh Sir Elton. We are a little concerned about this latest project of yours.

It sure sounds noble: doing a concert in Russia to show support for the beleaguered/dying LGBT community. Yes, something needs to be done. And yes, you are a prominent figure who can draw attention to the plight. But also, we do not want you to get arrested or beaten up, because that would not be so awesome.

Russia, as we all know, is experiencing a horrible wave of anti-LGBT violence stoked by ignorant political and religious leaders. It’s bad enough that various other performers (Selena Gomez, Lady Gaga, Madonna) have become targets of authorities simply because they had nice things to say about gay people.

Elton has two concerts scheduled for Moscow this week: one on Friday and one on Saturday. There’s a lot of suspense right now about whether they’ll actually happen, or whether they’ll be forcibly cancelled or worse. For example, antigay skinheads could sneak their way in and start trouble — or the police might try to round people up.

And while we’re sure Elton’s security team is quite capable, the skinheads and Russian police have been known to be pretty persuasive themselves.

In any event, we’ll be keeping a close eye on the concert situation. Elton’s managed to keep a level head while surrounded by enemies in the past (Rush Limbaugh‘s wedding, a duet with Eminem) so maybe he might actually pull this off.

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