Selena Gomez isn’t canceling her upcoming Tuesday, June 7, show in North Carolina, but she’s taking a stand against the “bathroom bill” in a different way.
“I am fortunate to have grown up in a home where I learned from an early age that everyone should be treated equally,” the 23-year-old pop star said in a statement to Billboard. “I went back and forth on whether I should cancel my concert in North Carolina and ultimately I think what is right for me is to move forward with my show and donate a portion of the proceeds to Equality North Carolina and their effort to defeat this act of discrimination.”
Gomez added that she and her team have done everything they can to ensure that they are promoting the anti-HB2 sentiments that so many of her fellow musicians have already espoused.
“I’ve been reassured the venue I will be performing in has gender-neutral bathrooms, as I want everyone coming to my show to be welcomed,” she continued. “I feel like my generation is the most progressive one yet and believe there will be a day soon when laws like HB2 won’t even be a consideration.”
Other artists, including Bruce Springsteen, Ringo Starr and Bryan Adams, announced their decision not to perform in the state after it passed the bill in April. House Bill 2, otherwise known as the “bathroom law,” requires individuals to use bathrooms that correspond with their sex at birth rather than with the gender with which they identify, and has largely been interpreted as anti-LGBT.
Companies such as Pepsi, General Electric, PayPal and Whole Foods have similarly boycotted the state.
Gomez kicked off her Revival tour in Las Vegas on May 6, and will next perform in Cincinnati on Sunday, June 5.
