The Hungarian State Opera has canceled
a third of its performances of the hit musical Billy Elliot
citing “reduced interest” after an op-ed claimed the show could
turn children gay.
The musical adaptation of the 2000
British movie tells the story of a boy growing up in poverty who
aspires to be a ballet dancer.
According to CNN,
an opinion piece published on the news website Magyor Idok
accuses the State Opera of participating in “rampant gay
propaganda.”
“The propagation of homosexuality
cannot be a national goal when the population is getting older and
smaller and our country is threatened by invasion," wrote
contributor Zsofia N. Horvath.
"Our government is trying to ...
help family prosperity with a lot of tools and money, so it's
inexplicable and intolerable that a leading state institution is
going against this intention and that it makes quite a few youngsters
miserable, who would have not gone this direction by themselves,”
Horvath added.
Magyor Idok openly supports the
government of right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban, which some
observers have described as authoritarian.
The Hungarian State Opera said in a
statement that it was canceling 15 out of 44 performances of the
musical.