Nick Jonas and Demi Lovato have called off their two North Carolina shows via Twitter announcement. The cancellation comes in response to the state’s controversial “bathroom bill,” a suite of laws which rules people must use the government restroom that matches the sex on their birth certificates. Trans people born in North Carolina may only have the sex on their birth certificate changes after they undergo gender reassignment surgery.
The bill also blocks smaller municipalities in North Carolina from creating their own bathroom laws, and raising local minimum wage above state-mandated minimum wage. Basically, there’s really no way around the bill. In their cancellation announcement, Nick and Demi call on their fans to stand with them in the fight to get the laws repealed.
The bill has already driven a number of artists out of the state. Rockdogs like Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, and Ringo Starr have pulled out of shows, as did Bruce Springsteen. Original pop queen Cyndi Lauper donated all of the proceeds from her North Carolina show to a group trying to repeal HB 2—sick move. Laura Jane Grace, the transgender frontwoman of Against Me!, also recently announced she will play shows in the state “as a form of protest.”
All that being said, those artists might have a shot at returning soon: North Carolina lawmakers filed a bill yesterday which would repeal the controversial law.