BRISBANE, Australia — Tropical F*ck Storm has found themselves in the center of an altogether different type of storm after the experimental rock band pulled out of its Sydney Festival commitments in protest to the event’s sponsorship arrangement with the Israeli Embassy.
As the annual event kicked off Thursday (Jan. 6), the award-winning Melbourne band called out organizers to “do the right thing and fix the problem they created,” pointing to a A$20,000 ($14,300) sponsorship deal which could see participating artists “become the targets of online harassment, bullying, smear campaigns, ridiculous accusations, misrepresentations and abuse from total strangers,” an official statement reads.
According to The Guardian, the Embassy of Israel in Canberra subsidized Decadance, a performance devised by Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin and Tel Aviv’s Batsheva Dance Company, and co-presented by Sydney Dance Company.
At the time of posting, Sydney Festival “stated they have no intention to refund the money or sever the sponsorship relationship,” the TFS statement continues, “even though the shit sandwich they’ve landed every billed artist in is blatantly obvious to them.”
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