“I love you like a love song, baby”…but Russia sure doesn’t.

Selena Gomez’s world tour comes to a screeching halt as Russian officials won’t allow her to enter the country because she supports LGBT rights. She was set to perform on September 23^rd in St. Petersburg and in Moscow on September 25^th.

As many students and teachers know, Russia, under the leadership of former KGB officer Vladimir Putin, has been discriminating against supporters of homosexuals, bisexuals, and people who don’t have gender or sexual identities. These people have been attacked and imprisoned by Russian officials.

According to the new law, it is illegal to say that gay marriage is equal to straight marriage and to speak to promote or defend gay rights.  Gomez is a huge supporter of LGBT rights and many of her fans wanted her to protest LGBT treatment during the Russian portion of her tour, sending letters and online petitions to Gomez herself as well as her stage and tour managers.

In response, Russian officials took her visa away mere days before her scheduled performances to prevent her from coming into the country. It was a sneaky move, but it worked. Both performances were cancelled.

“The actions of the Russian government may symbolize the control of one man over the vast amount of Russian people,” said junior Julie Mohl. “Vladimir Putin clearly opposes gays. We don’t know if the Russian people themselves do.”

Gomez isn’t the only singer that has had trouble with the Russians. Both Lady Gaga and Madonna got into trouble when officials determined that their visas had been violated. Granted, they were tourist visas that aren’t usually used for performers, but there is speculation that it may have just been another attempt to keep them out of the country since they are also LGBT supporters. This is just one of the troubles in Russia that is still ongoing, with people rallying together across the globe petitioning and protesting against Russia’s human right infringing actions.