In a statement released Friday afternoon, Bruce Springsteen announced that he has canceled his scheduled April 10 Greensboro show, and for the very best of reasons.
Springsteen asserted that the recently-passed HB 2 law attacks the rights of LGBT citizens to sue when their rights are violated in the workplace.
“No other group of North Carolinians faces such a burden,” the statement said. “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.”
“There are many groups, businesses, and individuals in North Carolina working to oppose and overcome these negative developments,” Springsteen wrote on his website. “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.”
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North Carolina Senate Democratic Leader Dan T. Blue, Jr. said that Springsteen’s announcement is just one of the significant economic blows served to the state since HB2 was passed.
“Springsteen’s announcement, coupled with news of companies such as PayPal pulling out of the state, puts a quantifiable measure on the negative consequences of this bill,” he said in a statement. “We’re losing jobs; we’re losing revenue from the loss of major events. We’re moving in the wrong direction.”
More than 15,000 concert tickets were sold, according to Andrew Brown, Public Relations Manager for the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. The show was Springsteen’s only planned North Carolina date, ahead European tour next month. Tickets will be refunded at the point of purchase.
PayPal also announced earlier this week it canceled plans to open a new global operations center in Charlotte because of the bill, costing the state 400 planned jobs.
