Detroit venue Populux has temporarily closed, saying it will investigate racist tweets that caused an uproar on social media and prompted artists to cancel their shows. The club will be closed for “at least a week,” spokesperson Greg Bowens told The Detroit News.
The offensive posts appeared on Populux’s Twitter feed late Thursday night, following news of the shooting of Dallas police officers: a retweet of controversial former Congressman Joe Walsh, and an original post that included the hashtag “#f**kblacklivesmatter” and a meme featuring Birdman on a bottle of hot sauce. In a subsequent update, Populux claimed its account was hacked.
In response, rapper Vic Mensa said he would cancel the Populux date on his Back With a Vengeance tour with Joey Purp. Los Angeles electronic act Bixel Boys also pulled out, and users quickly created a “#boycottPopulux” hashtag.
Will not be performing at @PopuluxDetroit on #BackWithAVengeance due to the racist comments they tweeted yesterday. pic.twitter.com/6IUyYzEly2
— still alive (@VicMensa) 8 juillet 2016
“We stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement,” Populux wrote in a Facebook post later on Friday, saying it was investigating the IP addresses of the users who posted the tweets. According to the Detroit Free Press, the club has asked for help from the FBI and the local internet crimes unit. Populux has since deleted its Facebook and Twitter accounts, although its official site still displays several upcoming shows, including RiFF RAFF and electronic producer BT.
