Pop singer Katy Perry has been forced to cancel her appearance and performance at the annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show after China banned her from entering the country.
In another setback for this year’s Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, Perry has been banned from entering China, where the annual show is being held this year, after trying to obtain a visa so she could perform.
According to Page Six, the “Roar” singer is barred from entering China after a 2015 performance in Taiwan, in which she wore sunflowers on her dress just after the flower had become a famous symbol for Taiwanese independence protesters. During the same performance, Perry went on to wave a Tawainese flag.
A source told Page Six that Perry had originally been able to obtain a visa to enter the communist country, but then had it pulled at the last minute.
“She was initially granted a visa to perform at the VS show in Shanghai, then Chinese officials changed their minds and yanked her visa,” a source said. “For every artist who wants to perform in China, officials comb through their social-media and press reports to see if they have done anything deemed to be offensive to the country. Maroon 5 was banned a few years ago because one band member wished the Dalai Lama happy birthday on Twitter.”
Perry’s failure to attend the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show comes immediately after model Gigi Hadid reportedly failed to secure a visa to enter China because of an Instagram video in which she allegedly mocked Asians, a source told Page Six.
While Perry will be replaced in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show by former One Direction band member Harry Styles, other models besides Hadid have been unable to secure visas to China, including Kate Grigorieva, Irina Sharipova and Julia Belyakova.
