Update on Lady Gaga Saga, 30 November 2012

National Council of Churches of Singapore

Update on Lady Gaga Saga

30 November 2012

News of Protests against Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Tour in Korea and other Asian Countries hit the news from 22 April 2012 and she performed amidst protests on 27 April in Korea. These were followed by news of angry protests in the Philippines following her performance on 18 May 2012.

This attracted our attention and we began to find out more about her and her performances.

Concerned about the profanity and blasphemous content of her performances, we requested that this be discussed at the National Steering Committee for racial and religious Harmony on 23 May 2012.

Our concern was received and assurance was given that the performances will be closely monitored.

When it was clear that the content was indeed offensive, calls were made to MDA as well as letters written to protest. These resulted in us being invited by the CEO of MDA, Mr. Aubeck Kam for a meeting on 2 July 2012 to discuss the issue.

The meeting ended well with the CEO of MDA agreeing to look into the following:

(1)        A letter of Apology to the Christian Community via the Catholic Church, NCCS and LoveSingapore.

(2)        Ways to ensure such offensive acts do not happen again.

(3)        To consult the respective religious body when MDA is unsure of the impact of content of any impending events.

Finally, a letter dated 8 October 2012 was received from Mr. Aubeck Kam, CEO of MDA, thanking us for bringing the matter to their attention as well as our meeting with them. They recognized that some segment of the content offended some sector of the community and promised to take that into consideration in future ratings.  They promised to be more stringent in future ratings of religious contents.

We responded with a letter, thanking them for listening to our concern and their promise of a more stringent rating BUT, in view of the sensitivities and strong sentiments, a mere higher rating is not good enough.  We strongly urged them to strictly enforce their guidelines and regulations – in other words, contents that denigrate, ridicule or offend any religion or religious symbols and icons should never be allowed.   We also offered ourselves (The NCCS) to assist the MDA in the event when they are unsure if certain content is offensive to the Christian Community.

We hope to bring the whole episode to a close at the next NSC meeting by having the NSC endorse the call to respect and protect all religions and religious symbols from abuse in Singapore.

–     BISHOP TERRY KEE
President
National Council of Churches of Singapore
30 November 2012

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