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Western music stars and other artists are striking Russian and Crimean dates off their tour calendars in protest at Russia’s attack on Ukraine and because of its anti-gay policy.

The latest act to pull out of a
scheduled show is German rock band The Scorpions, who have for years enjoyed
popularity in the former Soviet Union, especially Russia. But the band recently canceled
a show in the Ukrainian territory of Crimea because of the Kremlin’s illegal
invasion and annexation of the peninsula.

The Scorpions had been due to
perform at a boxing match in Crimea on Aug. 23, but pulled out just three days
before the gig, Russian boxing promoter Vladimir Khriunov told Gazeta.ru.

“Their manager wrote me an email in
which he confirmed their arrival. But then he wrote again, saying, ‘Unfortunately,
we have some doubts about this territory (of Crimea),’’’ said Khriunov.

But later, in comments to the Kyiv
Post, Khriunov said the reason for the cancellation was not the issue of Crimea’s
status, but one of money.

“They asked for only a little money
– they just wanted to be the headliners. But at the very last minute (U.S.) boxer
Roy Jones Junior stole the show, so they refused to come,” Khriunov told the
Kyiv Post.

Jones headlined the boxing event in
Yalta, Crimea, performing three rap songs ahead of the boxing event, which was
held at the R
ixos
Mriya Resort Hotel in Yalta.

Khriunov also claimed that Scorpions
were booked give a show in Crimea in October.

However, according to the tour schedule
on their website, the German rockers are going to spend the whole October touring
the United States. The band’s management was unavailable to comment.

And the band never heard about their upcoming concert in Crimea.

I have no knowledge of this. We will perform several shows in Ukraine in 2016,” said James Kottak, the Scorpions drummer to the Kyiv Post.

The Scorpions aren’t the only act boycotting Russia. Russian pop music
fans can wave goodbye to live performances from pop superstar Madonna as well.

The singer, who is currently preparing for her latest world tour, which
starts in September, has announced that she won’t be performing in Moscow or
St. Petersburg again.

“I don’t want to perform in places where being homosexual is
tantamount to a crime,” Madonna told Entertainment Weekly.

Russia’s anti-gay laws and propaganda are another reason many western stars
have been opting not to visit the country.

In 2014, pop diva Cher turned
down the opportunity to perform at the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi for the
same reason. The 67-year-old American
singer, actress, and a gay community icon, told media that she was offered to
open the Sochi 2014 by a Russian oligarch.

“He asked me if I’d like to be an
ambassador for the Olympics and open the show. I immediately said no,” Cher
told
Maclean’s magazine.I
want to know why all of this gay hate just exploded over there.”

The singer’s son Chaz Bono underwent a female-to-male
gender transition between 2008 and 2010.

Another celebrity who has spoken
out against Russia is British singer Ellie

Goulding.
She announced in a 2014 interview with the Hollywood
Reporter that she wouldn’t be giving any shows in Russia for the foreseeable
future because of the law in the country that bans “gay propaganda.”

Among
other celebrities that declined invitations to come to Russia is
Wentworth Miller, the gay star of the Fox series Prison Break , writer and actor Stephen Fry, and others.

However, the boycott by Western artists doesn’t seem
to bother some Russian officials. Conservative St. Petersburg city council member Vitaly
Milonov has hit back at the Queen of Pop, calling Madonna a “hypocritical
old lady” and accusing her of prioritizing gay rights over the lives of
children suffering because of the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Kyiv Post
writer Veronika Melkozerova can be reached at [email protected]