Fans of Troye Sivan in Indonesia and Malaysia have been left devastated after the singer revealed he would not perform in either country in his upcoming Asia Tour.
What’s more, fans speculated the openly-gay singer may have avoided the two countries due to their deteriorating LGBTI rights situation.
Sivan announced his Bloom Asia Tour in April and May 2019 on Monday (3 December). He will visit Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Thailand.
He left off performances in Malaysia and Indonesia, however. The two Muslim-majority countries have a combined population of roughly 300 million people.
Fans in both Indonesia and Malaysia took to Twitter to express dismay.
its not an asia tour if u didnt include malaysia and indonesia. these two countries seems like they never exist in maps whenever western artists did an ‘asia’ tour. no hate towards @troyesivan though, as a fan, im quite disappointed. https://t.co/61jqpaNNP4
— aina (@cookieseavey) December 3, 2018
OKAY SO TROYE SIVAN IS NOT COMING TO MALAYSIA BCS OF THE LGBT SHIT OMG U DONT EVEN KNOW HOW HURT I AM RIGHT NOW++++LAUV IS SKIPPING TOO😔🔫😞😞🔫😔🔫😞😞🔫😔🔫😞
— huDa (@cepahuda) December 3, 2018
Sivan and his management were not immediately available for comment on the scheduling.
When Sivan released his new album, Bloom, earlier this year he said it was sexier and ‘more unapologetically gay’ than his last.
He said: ‘I was a new artist — still am, but — I was new, openly gay, still young, and I just wanted to keep things as PG as I could.
‘Whereas this time, I was like, no — I want to make music for queer people.’
LGBTI communities at risk
Life for LGBTI people in both Malaysia and Indonesia has been deteriorating recently.
Gay sex is illegal in Malaysia, it is punishable with up to two years in jail under Section 377 of the Penal Code.
What’s more, LGBTI rights have been backsliding since a new government took power earlier this year. Malaysia’s leader Mahathir Mohamad said his country cannot accept LGBTI rights.
In Indonesia, meanwhile, hostility against LGBTI people in Indonesia has increased dramatically.
Last week, a city announced it would fine LGBTI individuals for ‘disturbing public order’.
It was the latest local regulation against LGBTI people. There has also been large public demonstrations and attacks on transgender people.
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