Has Chris Brown become persona non grata in the U.K.? Well according to media reports the singer, who had been scheduled to perform in London, Manchester, Birmingham, and Glasgow along with a concert in Cork in the Irish Republic, was refused a working visa because of his criminal record.
In a statement, released earlier this month the British Home Office said, “We reserve the right to refuse entry to the U.K. to anyone guilty of a serious criminal offence. Public safety is one of our primary concerns” and “each application to enter the U.K. is considered on its individual merits.”
Last year Brown was sentenced to five years’ probation and six months of community service for the assault of his ex -girlfriend, pop princess Rihanna.
Immediately, Brown’s label, Sony Music, confirmed that the singer’s tour was being postponed “due to issues surrounding his work visa… Chris looks forward to performing for his fans abroad in the near future and thanks them for their continued support.”
Promoter SJM concerts confirmed on their website that Brown’s tour would be postponed “due to unforeseen circumstances.” They also said that fans should keep their tickets “as there will be more news in the forthcoming days of possible rearranged dates.”
Brown also posted on his Twitter feed that he had been denied entry to the UK, but soon after the entries were removed from his account.
At least Brown is not alone; he now joins the infamous growing list of performers who have been forced to postpone tour dates due to complications with work visas. Among them is rapper Snoop Dogg, who was denied a visa from entering the U.K. in 2007 because of a 2006 disturbance arrest at Heathrow Airport. Akon was refused entry to Sri Lanka because the country felt that one of his music videos portrays Muslims in a insulting way and British singer Amy Winehouse’s visa application to perform at the 2008 Grammy Awards in the U.S. was denied due to her drug problems and repeated arrests.
As for Brown, this might be a setback for the singer’s career now, but maybe the U.K will eventually let him in as it has in the past with other famous musical outlaws.
Written by Valerie Varasse
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