Singer Carly Rae Jepsen on Tuesday
announced she would not perform at the Boy Scouts of America's (BSA)
National Scout Jamboree.
In a series of tweets, she said: “As
an artist who believes in equality for all people, I will not be
participating in the Boy Scouts of America Jamboree this summer. I
always have and will continue to support the LGBT community on a
global level and stay informed on the ever changing landscape in the
ongoing battle for gay rights in this country and across the globe.”
The move comes after GLAAD called on
Jepsen to speak out on the issue and Eagle Scout Derek Nance
organized an online
petition aimed at Jepsen which received more than 62,000
signatures.
The BSA reaffirmed its ban on openly
gay scouts and leaders last year.
It is now considering dropping its
national ban and allowing local chapters to decide the issue. The
BSA announced last month that it would allow the 1,400 voting members
of the national council to decide the issue when they meet in May.
Last week, the Grammy Award-winning
band Train announced that it would not perform at the event if the
policy remains in effect.
“When we booked this show for the Boy
Scouts of America we were not aware of any policy barring openly gay
people from participating within the organization,” the band said
in a statement. “Train strongly opposes any kind of policy that
questions the equality of any American citizen. We have always seen
the BSA as a great and noble organization. We look forward to
participating in the Jamboree this summer, as long as they make the
right decision before then.”
“No fair-minded media outlet,
corporation or celebrity will want to partner with the BSA as long as
the organization puts discrimination and anti-gay bias before the
needs of young people,” said
Rich Ferraro, GLAAD's VP of Communications. “GLAAD will
continue to call for partners of the BSA to speak out against the
anti-gay ban until the BSA puts Scouting first and adopts a national
non-discrimination policy. Carly Rae Jepsen and Train's decisions
not only send the right message to the BSA, but remind LGBT young
people that they are supported and accepted.”