New Delhi:
What started as a jubilant night out for young music fans in Shanghai descended into violence when security workers pulled Dua Lipa's fans from their seats. Many people were forcefully removed from the singer's concert.
According to Independent, the police crackdown followed after some people waved pro-LGBT flags.
Video footage from the gig, available on social media, shows security guards shoving and dragging concertgoers from the venue while the "New Rules" singer was performing on stage. Music fans across China expressed outrage, describing the removal as unwarranted.
#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
The 23-year-old singer addressed the incident on Twitter, saying she was "proud" of her fans.
Shanghai â¤ï¸ pic.twitter.com/mxLHxj2Y3y
— DUA LIPA (@DUALIPA) September 13, 2018
"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," Lipa wrote.
The singer also said she would return to China "when the time is right" and hopes to see "a room full of rainbows".
Although homosexuality is not illegal in China after the country decriminalised it in 1997, there are still no laws to deal with anti-LGBT behaviour.
