Swirling report said the band was banned from the country after the Communist party's Culture Ministry discovered that the group had performed in front of a picture of Dalai Lama.
- September 9, 2015
AceShowbiz -
Bon Jovi is no longer slated to play what would be their first Chinese concerts later this month. Their shows that were supposed to take place in Shanghai on September 14 and in Beijing on September 17 were canceled because of "unforeseen reasons," according to a statement issued by promoter AEG Live Asia on Tuesday, September 8.
"We would like to apologize for the inconvenience and disappointment that this will cause," the promoter continued and added that tickets for the two dates would be refunded. No other words regarding the cancellation were given, but many assumed that it had something to do with the band's support for the Dalai Lama.
The Financial Times said that the Communist party's Culture Ministry banned Bon Jovi from the country after discovering that the group had performed in front of a picture of the Tibetan monk at a Taiwanese concert a few years ago.
If the speculation is true, Bon Jovi won't be the first act to have their shows scrapped due to connections with the Dalai Lama. Most recently, Maroon 5 canceled their two gigs in the country after Chinese goverment found out keyboardist Jesse Carmichael wished the monk a happy 80th birthday in a now-removed tweet.
