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Lady Gaga Keeps Offending Southeast Asia

South Koreans protesting the arrival of Lady Gaga / Photo by Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty

Lady Gaga’s enormous (dare we say monstrous?) 110-date, two-year-long world tour kicks off today in South Korea, and unsurprisingly, there’s some local controversy surrounding the singer-cum-philanthropist‘s arrival. Gaga touched down in the country late last week, and as her first concert drew nearer, protests kicked into overdrive.

The South Korean shows have been officially deemed unsuitable for the youth by the nation’s media board, so attendees will have to prove they’re over 18 to enter venues.
And as Reuters reports, about 5,000 have joined the protest by the loudest group, Civilians Network Against the Lady Gaga Concert, on Facebook (that’s about 0.01 percent of the number of supporters Gaga herself has… just saying). “Some people can accept this as another culture but its impact is huge beyond art and debases religions,” said Reverend Yoon Jung-hoon, the organizer of the group. “Even adults can’t see her performance which is too homosexual and pornographic.”

Indonesian leaders have already warned Gaga to cover up to avoid offending Islamic values (via the Telegraph). “It’s better for Lady Gaga to cancel her show in this country if she has no willingness to respect our demand [to amend her wardrobe].” said an Indonesia Ulema Council leader of the upcoming concert in Jakarta. “Please do not destroy our nation’s morality and ruin our dignity.” Outrage in the predominately Muslim nation has been been bubbling since Gaga’s 25,000 tickets sold out on March 10.

Lady Gaga has been ignoring the protests in favor of preparing for the launch of the tour, her first since the Monster Ball wrapped last May in Mexico. “This is a very special moment for Haus of Gaga,” she tweeted today. “We thank you so much. Enjoy our music, fashion installations & pop performance art tonight.”