Singer-songwriter Bryan Adams has canceled his concert in Mississippi over a religious liberty law which gave businesses the right to not host same-sex weddings owing to their religious beliefs.
The show was being organized at Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi.
He posted a Facebook message saying that his conscience did not permit him to go to a state where "certain people are being denied their civil rights due to their sexual orientation."
"Using my voice I stand in solidarity with all my LGBT friends to repeal this extremely discriminatory bill," he continued. "Hopefully, Mississippi will right itself and I can come back and perform for all my many fans. I look forward to that day."
The law will be implemented in the state from July 1.
Bruce Springsteen and E Street Band have also canceled their shows in North Carolina over the bathroom ordinance passed last month requiring all people to use restrooms in conformity with the sex listed on their birth-certificates. The law was amended later and many of the rules were rolled back.
Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant told Heritage Foundation that Adams and other critics of the religious freedom law are mistaken about the purpose of the bill, and blamed the media for giving wrong impressions about the provision.
"It is disappointing that people just react emotionally about this and it is not their fault because the media is helping them form an idea that is just completely untrue and misrepresents what the bill does. The bill simply says that the government of the state of Mississippi and its political subdivisions cannot discriminate against people of faith, who hold deeply-held religious beliefs when it comes to marriage or other religious activities," he said.
