The Little Mix member has 'no intention of going to somewhere like Russia any time soon' because of the laws that discriminate against the LGBTQ community.
- Nov 4, 2021
AceShowbiz - Little Mix singer Jade Thirlwall is refusing to perform in Russia due to the country's laws which discriminate against the LGBTQ community.
The British pop star - who is joined in the girl group by Perrie Edwards and Leigh-Anne Pinnock - wants to perform for her group's fans in the country, but does not want to support its anti-gay stance.
"I've got no intention of going to somewhere like Russia any time soon because I obviously don't believe in what's going on there," she said on the "Table Manners" with Jessie and Lennie Ware podcast.
Passed in 2013, Russia's "gay propaganda" law bans materials that would "(present) distorted ideas about the equal social value of traditional and non-traditional sexual relationships" and has been condemned by officials at Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
However, Jade insists places like Russia need the support of LGBTQ+ allies "more than anywhere else."
"Those places, more than anywhere else, need someone to turn up as an ally and fly that flag for them so they don't feel so alone," she added.
The singer - who has Egyptian-Yemeni heritage from her mother Norma Badwi, shared, "I think as an Arab woman as well, it's very important for me with my Middle East fans to show them that they can have someone to look up to and realise they're not alone in it."
And she's stunned at the prejudice she still finds in England.
"For a lot of people they are willing to listen but they just don't understand it as it's just passed through generations. So if your grandad is being brought up to be homophobic, of course their son will listen to that, unless they're gay. That toxic masculinity will seep through each generation until somebody tries to change it," she noted.
"It was very much like that growing up, and from a young age I didn't agree with it, but I didn't know how to express that I didn't agree with it."
