Madonna WILL PLAY St Petersburg – Authorities Are Prepared to Arrest Her

Never the wall flower, Madonna has ignited controversy on both sides of a new anti-gay law in St Petersburg, Russia.

The Material Girl said in a Facebook posting this week that she plans to speak out against the law during an Aug. 9 concert in the city.

“I will come to St. Petersburg to speak up for the gay community, to
support the gay community and to give strength and inspiration to anyone
who is or feels oppressed,” Madonna wrote on Wednesday.

“I don’t run away from adversity. I will speak during my show about this ridiculous atrocity,” she added.

The law, which took effect March 11, in part prohibits “the propaganda of homosexuality and pedophilia among minors.”

Gay rights activists say
it would criminalize even reading, writing or speaking about gay,
lesbian, or transgender people. Violations can carry hefty fines,
ranging from about $170 for individuals up to $16,700 or organizations
and businesses.

The bill’s author, city assemblyman Vitaly Milanov, says he wants
Madonna charged under the new law if she speaks out against it during
her concert. He said he was willing to attend the show “to control its
moral content.”

“I’m ready to personally suffer a couple of hours of her concert,” he told the Russian Interfax news agency.

Madonna spoke out after an op-ed by Masha Gessen,
a Moscow-based Russian-American journalist, was published in the New
York Times on Monday calling on Madonna to cancel the show and urging
tourists and businesses to boycott the city.

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