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Selena Gomez has a global fanbase and is the most-followed female singer and actress on Instagram (426 million followers). To celebrate and support her second studio album, Revival, Gomez began her "Revival" tour in Las Vegas on May 6, 2016. The singer was to perform in Guangzhou and Shanghai on August 6 and 8 as part of the tour.
However, she was reportedly banned from performing in China because of her association with the Dalai Lama. According to a report from Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper, Chinese authorities had blocked Gomez from performing in China because of a picture (now deleted) shared on her social media with the Dalai Lama. The singer is far from being the first Western artist to be banned from performing in China.
How did one picture end up banning Selena Gomez from China?
According to the New Zealand Herald in 2016, Selena Gomez's Revival shows were canceled in China because of a ban from Chinese authorities because of her association with the Dalai Lama and after she posted an image with him in 2014. The Chinese government sees the Dalai Lama as a separatist threat and the government opposes support directed at him.
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While the link between the singer and spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism is unclear, the image showed the two at the We Day event in Vancouver in 2014.
According to the New Zealand Herald, in the image, Selena tilted her head back and smiled at the leader as he touched the back of her head and chin. He also smiled and looked down at her. In the caption, she wrote,
"words of wisdom. #speechless."
We Day is a youth empowerment program that often features prominent personalities from across the world. The Chinese authorities inferred the image as a political statement and banned Selena Gomez.
Other celebrities banned from China
1. Katy Perry
Just a year before Selena Gomez was banned from performing in China, American singer Katy Perry faced the ban in 2015. Perry faced heavy criticism for wearing the Taiwanese National flag like a cape with her dress.
2. Brad Pitt
Academy Award winner Brad Pitt and his Seven Years in Tibet director Jean-Jacques Annaud were banned from China. The Chinese government reportedly disapproved of the portrayal of Chinese soldiers in a negative light in the movie.
3. Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga has faced two bans by the Chinese government once in 2011 for her content and in 2016 for her 20-minute conversation with Dalai Lama. However, the ban was eventually lifted and the Chinese government allowed for the legal sale of Gaga's album Art Pop.
Selena Gomez is one of the few artists banned from performing in China. The Chinese government inferred Gomez's picture from 2014 as support and association with the Dalai Lama. Even after a decade, the ban has not been lifted.
