Cirque du Soleil opposes North Carolina HB2 bathroom law, cancels upcoming shows
Canadian theater company Cirque du Soleil will no longer push through with their scheduled performances in North Carolina to express their opposition to the state's bathroom law.
"The new HB2 legislation passed in North Carolina is an important regression to ensuring human rights for all," the group said in a statement last week. "Cirque du Soleil believes in equality for all."
The theater company is opposing House Bill 2, the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, which was signed by Governor Pat McCrory into law. Otherwise known as "bathroom privacy law," it states that people are to use public facilities like changing rooms, shower rooms, locker rooms, and restrooms based on the gender they were born with rather than that which they identify themselves with. It specifies that people are not to be discriminated against based on age, color, handicap, national origin, race, religion, or biological sex.
Cirque du Soleil was initially set to perform at OVO in Greensboro from April 20 to 24, then in Raleigh in June and Charlotte in July. They are the latest performers to cancel their shows in North Carolina because of HB2, following Bruce Springsteen and Ringo Starr.
Singer and LGBT supporter Cyndi Lauper, meanwhile, has a different approach. She will push through with her concert at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh on June 4, but all the profits will go to the effort to have HB2 repealed.
"I look forward to coming to North Carolina and standing up for equality and fairness," Lauper told ABC News. "If we truly want an inclusive society, we all have to include ourselves in the effort to make that happen. This is the best way I know how to include myself and urge you to join me in the best way you know how."
PayPal, likewise, pulled out their plans for a million-dollar investment in the state following the signing of the bill.
Supporters of HB2 believe that it protects women and children from possible harm from sexual predators.