Shocking footage has circulated on Twitter showing fans forcibly removed from their seats by security at Dua Lipa‘s concert in Shanghai, China on Wednesday night.
While the reason behind the concertgoers’ eviction has not been made clear, PEOPLE have reported that it was because they were standing and dancing which is prohibited at the venue while others have speculated that it was because they were waving pride flags.
According to BBC, although homosexuality is not illegal in China, anti-LGBTQ attitudes are still very much present.
The below video shows a security guard aggressively pulling a concertgoer from her seat.
I just CANT believe it. This is the show of Dua Lipa in Shanghai. All the fans are forbidden to stand out and could only sit on to see the show?!? If you don’t, the guard would use violence to kick u out. It’s unbelievable… #dualipa pic.twitter.com/quITZNLVxU
— Zebrastreifen? Ja, Bitte! (@PostP0st) September 12, 2018
As the fans were being escorted from the venue, a fight broke out between the concertgoers and a group of security guards.
#DuaLipa #DuaLipaMNL #DuaLipaMNL2018 #Shanghai And this on is UNBELIEVABLE!!! The audience who were pulled out of the concert by security guards, and also beaten up outside by security guards!!!!!!! These security guards are totally hooligans!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/kON19ak6xH
— Belief WILD (@Belief_wild) September 12, 2018
Lipa addressed the incident as the show went on.
“I want to create a really safe environment for us all to have fun,” the teary pop star said. “I want us all to dance, I want us all to sing, I want us all to have a really good time … I would love for these last few songs for us to really, really enjoy ourselves — how about that?”
https://twitter.com/958353005/status/1039912655933173761?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1039912655933173761&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpeople.com%2Fmusic%2Fdua-lipa-supports-fans-china-concert-pride-display%2F
She later took to social media to support the fans who were kicked out, writing:
Last night I did it for my fans. A promised show. I stood by them, sang with them and danced with them. I will stand by you all for your love and beliefs and I am proud and grateful that you felt safe enough to show your pride at my show. What you did takes a lot of bravery. I always want my music to bring strength, hope and unity. I was horrified by what happened and I send love to all my fans involved. I would love to come back for my fans when the time is right and hopefully see a room full of rainbows. I love you Shanghai xx.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bnqo8sol7xp/?taken-by=dualipa
https://twitter.com/DUALIPA/status/1040215929144193026
