Continental promo
||  News  ||
 
December 02, 2008

Chavez Nixes Cyndi Lauper Concert Because She's Pro-Gay

Cyndi Lauper was supposed to conclude her world tour over the weekend with a concert in Caracas, Venezuela -- but according to PerezHilton.com and a blog posting on one of her fan sites, the concert was canceled because of her support of gay rights.

According to the posting, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez canceled the concert because he “had fear of political protests.” He also allegedly opposed Lauper’s endorsement of President-elect Barack Obama and her outspoken support of gay rights.

Lauper is expected to comment on the canceled concert in a blog posting on her official website, www.CyndiLauper.com. Lauper was touring in support of her latest album, Bring Ya to the Brink. (Advocate.com)

Reader Comments

These comments are reproduced as written by visitors to this Web site. They have not been edited for content, grammar, or spelling. The viewpoints appearing here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or views of advocate.com, The Advocate, or its affiliates.

  • Name: Noah
    Date posted: 2008-12-30 3:06 PM
    Hometown: Olympia, WA

    Comment:

    For god's sake, why hasnt this story been taken down? You printed a retraction, everybody knows it wasn't true and was embarrasingly bad reporting, but the story's still showing up high in search results for venezuela news. Take the damn thing down! Right now!


  • Name: Derek
    Date posted: 2008-12-08 12:30 AM
    Hometown: California

    Comment:

    Hugo Chavez and his administration proposed guaranteed LGBT civil rights last year. Why don't you do a bit of research before reporting garbage from Perez Hilton. Know you know how much misinformation there is about Hugo Chavez.


  • Name: mark snyder
    Date posted: 2008-12-07 4:22 PM
    Hometown: san francisco

    Comment:

    A fansite reported that Hugo Chavez canceled a Cyndi Lauper concert because she is pro-gay. It was not true, and the fan site removed the story. Unfortunately Perez Hilton spread the lie, and even the Advocate reported on it like it was true. It is not true. Hugo Chavez supports gay rights, and many pro-gay performers have toured there including Kylie Minogue.


  • Name: otto finhaber
    Date posted: 2008-12-04 11:39 PM
    Hometown: fort lauderdale

    Comment:

    1. Chavez supports LGBT rights - and is on record supporting LGBT rights. This third party fan site is wrong. 2. Chavez was democratically elected 2 times, and the elections were approved and overseen by many international voting boards who deemed Venezuelan elections among the most clean of any in the word.


  • Name: Mark in NYC
    Date posted: 2008-12-03 12:31 AM
    Hometown: NEW YORK CITY

    Comment:

    Hugo Chavez (Born in 1954) is the current pres. He was educated at the state "military" academy which like most all male schools is a hotbed of gay sex on an experimental basis. Like most homophobes, there is probably a boyfriend or old lover lurking on the sidelines - wife and five kids be damned! Cindi Lauper looses revenue on small concert date and picks up a ton of world wide free and very positive publicity because of her choosing to do the decent and human thing on these issues. I have seen other stories that would indicate that Chavez is PRO GAY. Something or someone got to him in this instance? Wonder who or what it was this time. But I bet Cindi's press agents are having a field day with this one now. They cannot ever buy this kind of publicity. The idiot President of the country handed the Lauper organization tens of millions of dollars in GREAT GAY SUPPORTING PRESS. B


  • Name: Mark Snyder
    Date posted: 2008-12-02 2:00 PM
    Hometown: San Francisco

    Comment:

    On December 15, 2002, three years after the new constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela was adopted, President Hugo Chavez said on his weekly television program Alo Presidente that a big mistake had been made in 1999 during the National Constituent Assembly, when the rights of gays and lesbians were left out of the new constitution.


  • Name: mark snyder
    Date posted: 2008-12-02 1:58 PM
    Hometown: san francisco

    Comment:

    Chavez was democratically elected 2 times in clean elections that were overseen by various international voting agencies. There is NO evidence Chavez played any role in cancelling this concert - it is pure media gossip perpetrated by perezhilton.com.


  • Name: DJ Andy
    Date posted: 2008-12-02 3:20 AM
    Hometown: San Francisco

    Comment:

    People, Cesar Chavez... is dead. Has been dead for many years now. Ya'll are barking about the wrong Chavez. It was Hugo Chavez; President of Venezuela, that made the decision. Not suprising, he is not a fan of U.S. policies. I bet he likes her music (Cyndi, Madonna and Tina Turner are beyond Iconic in South America)... he just doesn't want people from the outside coming in and trying to teach people what freedom is all about. Like it or not he is or will be a dictator; not the liberator he is painting himself as to be. Cyndi's tour manager should have known better; that wasn't a wise choice. It's nice that the first Chavez that was thought about was Cesar, but it shows that some of you are watching too much Gossip Girl and hitting the clubs a wee bit too much. Don't forget to pay attention to world events as well. It might help you when posting comments that refer to political leaders....


  • Name: Dave
    Date posted: 2008-12-02 12:39 AM
    Hometown: Chattanooga

    Comment:

    The latino and immigrant civil rights activist, Cesar E. Chavez, was not only a driving force behind the struggle for fair working conditions for immigrant farmers, he faught for the equal gay rights as well. “Our movement has been supporting lesbian and gay rights for over 20 years. We supported lesbian and gay rights when it was just a crowd of 10 people.” -Cesar Chavez at the 1987 march for gay and lesbian rights in Washington, DC. Christine Chavez, Cesar Chavez's granddaughter and the political director of the United Farm Workers California, also supports gay equality. She presided over same-sex marriage unions in 2004 and endorsed California's same-sex marriage bill (AB 19) in 2005. So why should gays support immigration rights? Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said it best in a telegraph to Cesar Chavez, "Our separate struggles are really one. A struggle for freedom, for dignity and for humanity."


  • Name: Rick
    Date posted: 2008-12-02 12:32 AM
    Hometown: Charlotte, NC

    Comment:

    First of all, who is this Chavez guy? And second of all, who gives a damn anyway?


  • Name: zeke
    Date posted: 2008-12-01 11:39 PM
    Hometown: Santon Brazil

    Comment:

    Advocate, you have sunk to a new low in journalism. you're quoting Perez Hilton and an anonymous blogger now?


  • Name: J
    Date posted: 2008-12-01 8:25 PM
    Hometown: Lewiston

    Comment:

    "mark from sf", I find your comment to be suspect. FYI, Chavez has never voiced support for gay rights nor tried to pass legislation in favor of it. If you are going to report facts on a political figure, at least do your homework and make sure they are indeed facts. What the actual circumstances were that led to this cancellation is anyones guess, but whatever Perez says I take with a grain of salt.


  • Name: mark snyder
    Date posted: 2008-12-01 5:07 PM
    Hometown: sf

    Comment:

    I find this story to be suspect. Chavez has voiced support and tried to pass legislationfor gay rights in the past.


Back to top

Submit a comment for this story:

*Type your comment here (Required, 1000 characters max. HTML formatting and hyperlinks are NOT permitted.):

*Name (Required): 

*Hometown (Required): 

*E-mail address: (Required, but will not be displayed)

Is this comment for publication? 
Yes   No

Daytime phone number: (Required for print publication only and will not be displayed)

Please enter the words you see in the box, in order and separated by a space. Doing so helps prevent automated programs from abusing this service.

  

If you would like to submit a comment for posting, please fill out the form above. 

All comments submitted via this form are subject to posting or publication. (To send a private letter to an Advocate editor or writer, please use the e-mail button at the top of the page, or use snail mail.) If you would like your comment considered for publication in The Advocate magazine, please include your full name, your city of residence, and a phone number where you can be reached during business hours so that we can confirm your identity. Your e-mail address and telephone number are strictly confidential and will not be shared or used for any purpose other than to contact you about your comment.

See the Contact page for sending comments for reasons other than responding to Advocate editorial and news stories.

Please note that comments sent by fax or snail mail are unlikely to be posted, although they will be considered for publication along with all letters received via e-mail or via this Web page. Comments that chiefly concern Advocate.com content will be considered for posting only on the Web site. The Advocate reserves the right to edit submitted comments for grammar, spelling, obscenities, or libel; we will, however, do our best to preserve the original comment's style and intent. Comments considered for publication in The Advocate magazine may also be edited for length.

More Exclusives
  • View From the Hill: The End of DADT?
    Defense Secretary Robert Gates revealed that lawyers are exploring ways to ease enforcement of the military's gay ban, but cautioned that the law doesn't leave much wiggle room. He need look no further than DOD history for a lesson in altering the policy.
  • Hot Sheet: Week of July 5
    When you get back from that big 4th of July barbecue, unwind with Sacha Baron Cohen's Bruno and your favorite B-movie-mocking, basic cable robots.
  • Hungry Like the Wolf
    A master of viola, ukulele, piano, and harp, Patrick Wolf is a music prodigy -- one who, the night before this interview, spit on a cop and got himself arrested.
  • Soapside: Advocate's Guide to Daytime
    Forbes March talks about playing gay, Otalia fans outraged, update on One Life to Live’s Patricia Maurceri’s firing over gay plot point, Phillip Chancellor III big reveal, and Erica Kane goes to Africa.
  • The Faces of Federal Prop. 8
    With the federal challenge to Prop. 8 moving full speed ahead, Advocate.com sits down with the two couples named as plaintiffs in the suit.
  • Mommy, the Gays Are Coming
    After a year of advancements and celebration for gay and lesbian Colombians, the community takes to the streets of Bogota for the country's biggest pride ever.
  • The Pride of Antwerp
    Advocate.com hits the gay-friendly streets of Antwerp with openly gay police commissioner Serge Muyters.
  • Excerpt: Mean Little Deaf Queer
    In an excerpt from her humorous and harrowing new memoir, Mean Little Deaf Queer, Terry Galloway recalls her early childhood, describing feelings of ugliness, confusion about gender, and being one of the boys.
  • Top Political Blogs
    From Joe.My.God to The Daily Beast, Advocate.com spotlights a few of the best blogs that cover politics, inside and way outside the Beltway.
  • The Diva of French Television
    A hot young screenwriter who has made gay OK for millions of French viewers, Nicolas Mercier sips champagne, dons a feathered hat, and says he wants to see Colin Farrell and Jude Law go at it.