People News

Lady Gaga's Indonesia concert may be cancelled

May 15, 2012, 11:23 GMT

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga has been refused a permit to perform in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The 'Bad Romance' singer was due to perform the biggest show on the Asian leg of her Born This Way Ball in the city on June 3, but has been denied a work permit by local police after objections from Islamic groups.

Boy Rafli Amar, a spokesperson for Jakarta police said the permit had been denied after protests against the singer's sexualised image, provocative dance moves and allegations she could underline the country's moral fibre.

Promoter Big Daddy had already sold 52,000 tickets, with a further 2,000 being made available yesterday (14.05.12).

Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world with 240 million people, and groups including Muslim Defenders Team and Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) said they would not tolerate Gaga appearing in the country. The latter threatened to ask its 30,000 supporters to forcibly prevent Gaga stepping off the plane.

FPI's Jakarta chairman Salim Alatas said: 'We will stop her from setting foot on our land. She had better not dare spread her satanic faith in this country.

'Her style is vulgar, her sexual and indecent clothes will destroy our children's sense of morality. She's very dangerous.'

Although the concert is in jeopardy, Gaga could perform in another Indonesian city, as long as local police supported the event, according to local news sources.

Mariska Renata, who had a ticket for the Jakarta show, said: 'I'm very disappointed. We are mature enough to be able to separate our own moral values from arts and culture.'

Gaga faced protests ahead of the first show in the This Way Ball in Seoul, South Korea, and the concert was limited to those aged 18 and over as a result. The singer last performed in Saitama, Japan on Sunday (13.05.12).