The President of Lithuania has weighed in on the controversy surrounding Ten Walls‘ homophobic comments, saying it presents an opportunity for the country to have a healthy discussion about intolerance.
Ten Walls Dropped By Festivals After Homophobic Comments
According to the Lithuanian Tribune, President Dalia Grybauskait? told journalists in the capital of Vilnius:
“I believe the incident benefits the state in a way that, in this country, we are becoming more and more open in our discussions about how insular we are, our intolerance of people who are different, as well as homophobia,” she said. “I believe discussions are a healthy thing, we need more of them, as the sooner Lithuania becomes more open and more tolerant, the better it will be for the country.”
Earlier this week, at least seven festivals dropped Ten Walls from their lineups after he posted anti-gay comments to his personal Facebook page.
Roundly condemned by the dance world, the Lithuanian artist was also dropped by his booking agency Coda Music Agency, while Phonica Records canceled all pre-orders for his new Sparta EP.