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Madonna booed for Gypsy support
By CMU Editorial | Published on Friday 28 August 2009
Madonna was booed by a large portion of her audience at a show in Romania on Wednesday after she spoke out against discrimination of the Roma people, Eastern European Gypsies. Prejudice against the Roma is strong in many Central and Eastern European countries, with six murdered and several injured in a recent series of attacks in Hungary.
As part of her current tour, Madonna is joined on stage at one point by Roma musicians and a dancer. After they had performed on Wednesday night, Madonna announced to the audience: “It has been brought to my attention that there is a lot of discrimination against Romanies and Gypsies in general in Eastern Europe. It made me feel very sad. We don’t believe in discrimination, we believe in freedom and equal rights for everyone”.
This was met with boos and jeers, with more when she went on to mention discrimination against homosexuals too.
One of those who booed, Ionut Dinu, told Associated Press: “I jeered her because it seemed false what she was telling us. What business does she have telling us these things?”
Radu Motoc, from the Romania branch of the Soros Foundation, which funds volunteer socio-political projects added on Thursday:”There is generally widespread resentment against Gypsies in Eastern Europe. They have historically been the underdog. Madonna is a pop star. She is not an expert on interethnic relations”.
However, the singer’s publicist Liz Rosenberg told reporters: “Madonna has been touring with a phenomenal troupe of Roma musicians who made her aware of the discrimination toward them in several countries, so she felt compelled to make a brief statement”.
