Bisexual singer Halsey ‘scared of arrest’ during Russia tour for singing about female lovers
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Closer singer Halsey has opened up about fearing arrest during her tour of Russia.
The singer has been embarking on a world tour this month, performing in Milan before heading to Russia for shows in Moscow and St Petersburg.
Halsey, who has opened up about being bisexual, biracial, and bipolar, posted lyrics on Instagram addressing her time in the country.
She wrote: “I’m out in Moscow / and feelin unlucky.
“Scared the police gonna / keep me in custody.
“And all these kids love me, / but Russia don’t f**k with me.
“Cause I wrote some songs / about women who f**k with me,
“I got a rainbow 10 feet up above me / and this what I meant
“when I said that they shush me. /But no one can judge me.
“Expect no less of me. / In all of these faces, / there’s greatness among me.”
Concluding with rainbow emojis, she added: “I love you Moscow, you were badass tonight.”
She later posted a photo of fans waving rainbow flags at the concert, with the Russian words: “Soldiers. Thank you.”
Halsey has several tracks about same-sex relationships, including ‘Bad At Love’ and ‘Strangers’.
In ‘Bad At Love’, she sings about past lovers: “Got a girl with California eyes / And I thought that she could really be the one this time
“Never got the chance to make her mine / Because she fell in love with little thin white lines.
“London girl with an attitude / We never told no-one, but we look so cute.
“Both got way better things to do / But I always think about it when I’m riding through.”
Russia maintains a controversial 2013 law that bans “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relationships”, which has been seized upon by authorities to clamp down on depictions of gay people in public life.
The premiere of a new ballet at Russia’s Bolshoi Theatre was allegedly cancelled earlier this year over concerns about ‘gay propaganda’.
One of the most anticipated ballets of the season had been set to make its debut in July, but all performances were cancelled on short notice over the weekend under mysterious circumstances.
The decision to pull the ballet led to allegations that the Russian government had intervened, over concerns about male nudity and gay themes.
In a ruling earlier this year, the European Court of Human Rights condemned the oppressive law.
The law also bans people sharing “distorted ideas about the equal social value of traditional and non-traditional sexual relationships”, which has been widely abused in the country to clamp down on the LGBT rights movement as a whole.
In its ruling, the ECHR found the law to be in breach of freedom of expression protections, as well as ruling that it “reinforces stigma and prejudice and encouraged homophobia”.
The Russian Justice ministry has vowed to appeal.
In a statement, the department said the law was solely designed “to defend morality and children’s health”, and did not impact freedom of expression.
But LGBT activists say the law has had a chilling effect across Russian culture.
Last year, Russian MPs called for football video game FIFA 17 to be banned because it allowed players to take part in the rainbow laces campaign.
A special Pride-themed football kit was made available as a free download for FIFA 17 players across PC, Xbox and Playstation gaming platforms as part of the tie-up.
Russia’s censorship body was urged by lawmakers to open a probe into the potential violation of the ‘gay propaganda’ law.
