The Queen of Pop is coming to a city near you!
Madonna announced Monday in a press release that she would add eight additional shows to The Celebration Tour later this year. One of those dates will be in Nashville, Tennessee, where lawmakers just passed the hateful Senate Bill 3 into law, widely known as the "Drag Ban" bill. A portion of the proceeds will go towards trans rights organizations in the state in response to the ban.
In a statement, she said that "the oppression of the LGBTQ+ is not only unacceptable and inhumane; it’s creating an unsafe environment; it makes America a dangerous place for our most vulnerable citizens, especially trans women of color." She added that "these so-called laws to protect our children are unfounded and pathetic. Anyone with half a brain knows not to fuck with a drag queen."
Madonna, who will tour with legendary RuPaul's Drag Race winner Bob the Drag Queen, said, "Bob and I will see you from the stage in Nashville where we will celebrate the beauty that is the queer community.”
Besides Nashville, the icon also added dates in Washington D.C., Philly, Palm Springs and Sacramento, with additional shows in Phoenix, San Francisco, and Vegas. The tour itself kicks off on July 15 in Vancouver.
Madonna isn't the first celebrity to speak out against Tennessee lawmakers and more across the country instituting similar bans. Paramore frontwoman Hayley Williams condemned Governor Bill Lee in February on Instagram: “Drag is not a crime. Gender-affirming health care for all, including our youth, is a necessity." She added that “Once again our state has passed two regressive and unfathomably harmful bills," but said she would continue to advocate "Not only for inclusion for our friends & family in the queer community, but for radical acceptance and empowerment for each of them.”
Country star and RuPaul's Drag Race guest judge Maren Morris, who performed at Nashville's Love Rising fundraiser for the Tennessee Equality Project and other similar orgs, also said onstage last week "Yes, I introduced my son to some drag queens today. So, Tennessee, fucking arrest me."
Photo via James Devaney/Getty