Spice Girls Singer Cancels Concert to Stand With LGBTQ+ Community

Spice Girls singer Melanie "Melanie C" Chisholm withdrew from a New Year's Eve concert in Poland to support the LGBTQ+ community. Although Chisholm did not go into detail on her decision, Poland's ruling Law and Justice party has been criticized around the world for being anti-LGBTQ+. The party has also been accused of using state broadcaster TVP to spread its conservative views throughout the country.

"In light of some issues that have been brought to my attention, that do not align with the communities I support, I'm afraid I will no longer be able to perform in Poland as planned on New Year's Eve," Chisholm wrote on her social media platforms Monday. "I hope to be back there very soon. Hope you're all having a wonderful Christmas and best wishes for 2023."

Chisholm's decision was widely praised by her fans in Poland and around the world. "Bravo! Polish television persecutes gays, as well as anyone who has different views from the current views. The fact that the LGBT community is constantly humiliated by politicians, including the president of Poland," Polish journalist Tomasz Reich wrote.

"Stand for what you believe in. That is what the Spice Girls stood for," one fan wrote. "Thank You, Melanie. It is really important what you're doing right now. Thank You and best wishes and a lot of love from Poland," another commented. "Thank you for standing by your beliefs and always supporting our community," another wrote.

Poland's government is led by the Law and Justice (PiS) party, which has hard right-wing beliefs that have drawn international criticism. President Andrzej Duda has also spoken out against LGBTQ+ rights in Poland. This year, ILGA-Europe ranked Poland's LGBTQ+ rights as the worst among European Union countries. Same-sex couples are not allowed to adopt and Poland does not legally recognize same-sex unions.

State broadcaster TVP has also been criticized for spreading the party's ideology. Earlier this month, the country's largest opposition party, the Civic Platform, submitted a bill to abolish TVP because it has become a "propaganda" outlet for PiS, reports Notes from Poland. "Just as Dziennik Telewizyjny [communist-era propaganda news] was consigned to history after 1989, now the TVP Info channel should be abolished," Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski said. "Poles deserve real public television, not like Russia Today, but like the BBC."