Katy Perry banned from entering China

Missing out on a lucrative market.

Belmont Lay | November 18, 2017, 02:22 AM

Katy Perry has been banned from entering China indefinitely.

The 33-year-old American singer was scheduled to perform at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in Shanghai on Nov. 20.

Why?

Perry was initially informed that she’d be able to gain access into China.

She had tried applying for a visa to enter the Communist nation, but was subsequently denied by Chinese officials.

The decision apparently was reversed after the government caught wind of a controversial incident from 2015.

Perry wore a dress with sunflowers on it during a performance in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan.

The sunflower had been adopted the year before by anti-China protesters and her outfit wound up causing widespread outrage in China.

However, the dress had featured in prior shows on her tour. Among her Chinese fan base, Perry is known affectionately as “Fruit Sister”, due to her habit of wearing fruit-themed costumes on stage and performing with outsize fruit-shaped props.

But Perry was also spotted waving a Taiwanese flag during the concert and wore the Taiwan flag as a cape.

In China, officials comb through social media and press reports to see artistes have done anything deemed to be offensive to the country.

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Who else got banned?

A litany of models also got banned from China this time, including Gigi Hadid after being booked in advance.

Hadid, who was booked for the show back in August, was banned because of a February Instagram video. She held up a biscuit shaped like a Buddha and imitated the religious figure by squinting her eyes in it.

The clip was posted by the model’s sister, Bella, in February.

It was later deleted following harsh criticism. Chinese social media users warned Hadid not to come to Shanghai, calling her racist.

Who else has been banned before?

A litany of international acts have been banned by China, including Oasis, Maroon 5 and recently, Justin Bieber.

In July 2017, the Chinese culture bureau said: “We hope Justin Bieber is able to improve his conduct as he grows up and will once again find public favour.”

This suggested the ban was reversible subjected to behaviour.

The implications of missing out on the Chinese market would mean a loss of income, as China is increasingly affluent and a huge market for western entertainers.

This is also China's way of cushioning the impact of soft power influences by reminding artistes that they can gain a foothold in the country if they play nice first and toe the Chinese line.

Top photo via Wikipedia