Katy Perry Banned from China
by EG
Katy Perry has fans all over the world, but some parts of the Chinese government are not fans. Not at all. The American Idol judge was set to perform at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in Shanghai, but this week China refuses to grant her a visa to enter the country, thanks to an accidental political statement she made in 2015. It's another blow for the fashion show, which was already in trouble because several of its models are also being denied entry to China.
Via Page Six.
The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in Shanghai is disintegrating faster than a cheap lace thong.
Katy Perry, who was set to perform, has now been banned from China indefinitely — along with a host of top models, including Gigi Hadid — after being booked in advance for Monday’s big event.
Sources exclusively told Page Six on Thursday that the “Swish Swish” singer had tried applying for a visa to enter the communist nation, but was denied by Chinese officials.
While she initially was informed that she’d be able to gain access, the decision apparently was reversed after the government caught wind of a controversial incident from 2015, in which Perry wore a bright, glittery dress with sunflowers on it during a performance in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan.
Her outfit wound up causing widespread outrage because the sunflower had been adopted the year before by anti-China protesters.
To drive her point home, Perry also waved a Taiwanese flag during the concert in a show of support for the country, which has been butting heads with China for years over its independence.
“She was initially granted a visa to perform at the VS show in Shanghai, then Chinese officials changed their minds and yanked her visa,” a source explained. “For every artist who wants to perform in China, officials comb through their social-media and press reports to see if they have done anything deemed to be offensive to the country. Maroon 5 was banned a few years ago because one band member wished the Dalai Lama happy birthday on Twitter.”
The models, meanwhile, were believed to have been banned due to various social-media posts they made, which apparently were deemed offensive.
Get the rest of the story at Page Six.
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