HARTFORD — Students at Connecticut’s Trinity College have canceled a concert by rapper Action Bronson, saying his music and videos promote misogyny and hatred against gay and transsexual people.
More than 1,000 people signed a Change.org petition to cancel his performance.
The leaders of the student-run group that booked him as the headliner for Trinity’s Spring Weekend concert on April 30 said in a Wednesday Facebook post they decided to cancel after an online petition and a conversation on campus raised “overwhelming concerns” about Bronson. They also apologized for any emotional harm caused by the decision to book Bronson, whose latest album is called “Mr. Wonderful.”
According to the Facebook post, The Trinity College Barnyard Entertainment Group, which puts on Spring Weekend, voted on March 31 to remove Bronson from the schedule, but lawyers said the contract they had with him was binding and they would lose all of the deposit money, so it was decided to move forward with his performance so long as he signed an agreement to not sing discriminatory lyrics.
The campus response changed the board’s mind.
A spokesman for Bronson hasn’t returned a message seeking comment.
A Bronson appearance at George Washington University was canceled last month over similar concerns.
Trinity is a liberal arts college in Hartford and has around 2,000 students.
