Cirque du Soleil has canceled all of its upcoming shows in North Carolina to protest the state’s newly passed anti-LBGT legislation — but it’s still going strong in Dubai, despite homosexuality being punishable by death there.
The Montreal-based entertainment company on Friday scrapped shows in Greensboro, Charlotte and Raleigh, saying it “strongly believe[s] in diversity and equality for every individual and is opposed to discrimination in any form.”
But, according to its Web sites, the world-famous circus act is still scheduled to hold shows in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where same-sex marriage, sex- or gender-reassignment surgery, adoption by same-sex couples and openly gay and lesbian military service is outlawed.
Anyone who takes part in such acts could face fines, imprisonment or even death.
“Over the past years, Cirque du Soleil has had shows in various countries such as United Arab Emirates,” the Cirque du Solei Web site reads.
On Friday, the entertainment group blasted North Carolina politicians over passage of the state’s Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, which states that individuals can use only bathrooms that correspond to the biological sex that appears on their birth certificates.