Lebanese singer Nancy Ajram is at the center of debate after banning pride flags at her concert in Sweden.
On August 17, the singer hosted a concert in the city of Gothenburg, which happened to be celebrating EuroPride 2018 during the same week.
According to Annahar, Ajram's manager Jiji Lamara asked organizers to ban the audience from bringing pride flags to the concert.
The LGBTQ+ community in Sweden, which legalized same-sex marriage in 2009, took part in celebrating EuroPride, a pan-European event dedicated to LGBTQ+ pride.
Gothenburg, which is "famous for turning into a rainbow city during Pride Week," celebrated EuroPride on August 14-19.
Knowing members of the audience might express their LGBTQ+ pride in Ajram's concert, her team decided to completely prohibit rainbow flags and asked organizers to remove all flags before she performed.
The singer, who has not yet commented on the incident, has been heavily criticized over the move. Here's what social media users had to say:
People are expressing their disappointment in Ajram
And describing her as homophobic
"Solidarity is not about convenience," wrote Mashrou' Leila's Hamed Sinno
Rainbow flag emojis are in full force
Many are noting that the LGBTQ+ community is a huge part of her fanbase
"Imagine not letting your FANS to your concert just because they're LGBT"
"Nancy Ajram is canceled"
"Will she also ban queer people from listening to her music?"
"Nancy Ajram bans pride flags at her concert in Sweden. Honestly, what is this heroic act? Will she also ban queer people from listening to her music? Will she boycott queer designers?
This discrimination against anyone different from us is repulsive. Art should send a message, rather than spread intolerance."