Madonna adds special tour date to ‘celebrate’ the queer community amid anti-LGBTQ legislation
By Dan Heching, CNN
Amid a crushing flood of anti-trans and anti-drag bills cropping up throughout the country, music icon and social activist Madonna is making a change to her upcoming Celebration tour schedule.
On Monday, the “Vogue” entertainer announced that she is adding a stop in Nashville, Tennessee, along with seven other US cities to her world tour, set to kick off in Vancouver in July.
In a statement, the singer said “the oppression of the LGBTQ+ is not only unacceptable and inhumane” and making “America a dangerous place for our most vulnerable citizens, especially trans women of color.”
Tennessee earlier this month saw the passage of two of the most sweeping and restrictive anti-trans and anti-drag laws in the country.
On March 2, Republican Gov. Bill Lee of Tennessee signed a bill into law that restricts public drag show performances, making his state the first to do so this year. The law is set to limit “adult cabaret performances” on public property so as to shield them from the view of children.
The same day, Lee signed senate Bill 0001 in law, prohibiting gender-affirming care for trans minors, adding Tennessee to the list of Republican-led states to pass this type of legislation.
On Monday, Madonna labeled the “so-called laws to protect” children as “unfounded and pathetic.”
Madonna ended her missive by saying she “will see you from the stage in Nashville where we will celebrate the beauty that is the Queer community!”
The Celebration tour, billed as a greatest hits tour, will feature a “one-of-a-kind experience” from Bob the Drag Queen, winner of Season 8 on “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” across all dates.
The tour will play Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on December 22, with other show dates running into late January 2024.
Complete tour and ticketing information for the Celebration tour is available at madonna.com.
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CNN’s Shawna Mizelle contributed to this report.
