Train and Carly Rae Jepsen are refusing to perform at the Boy Scouts Jamboree until the organization lifts a ban on gay scouts, thanks in part to an online petition from a gay Eagle Scout.
The performers were slated to play at the Boy Scouts’ annual event, but a recent Change.org petition by gay Eagle Scout Derek Nance urged hem to skip the event in protest of the ban on gay scouts. After the petition gained the support of GLAAD, Train responded.
The band released this statement on their blog:
“When we booked this show for the Boy Scouts of America, we were not aware of any policy barring openly gay people from participation within the organization. Train strongly opposes any kind of policy that questions the equality of any American citizen. We have always seen the BSA as a great and noble organization. We look forward to participating in the Jamboree this summer, as long as they make the right decision before then.”
After Train skipped out on the Boy Scouts event, hopes were raised among the LGBQT community that Carly Rae Jepsen would as well. Her video for the hit song “Call Me Maybe” features two men kissing, NBC News noted, and Jepsen also told Time last year that she supports gay marriage. that she has always supported gay marriage.
Carly Rae Jepsen finally responded on Tuesday morning, issuing a statement on Twitter that she would not perform the Boy Scouts event until the organization allowed gay scouts.
“As an artist who believes in equality for all people, I will not be participating in the Boy Scouts of America Jamboree this summer,” Jepsen wrote on Twitter.
It appears that the pressure from the online petition and the cancellations of Train and Carly Rae Jepsen may have had an effect. The Boy Scouts of America is slated to vote on a proposal this May that would end their national ban on gay Scouts and gay Scout leaders.
