Troye Sivan Responds to Backlash Over Tour Opener Kim Petras’ Dr. Luke Comments

Evan Minsker
Updated
“The opinions communicated in these interviews don’t align with my personal values or the values of the tour”

Troye Sivan recently announced his Bloom Tour, and one of the openers of those upcoming shows is pop star Kim Petras. The announcement of Petras’ inclusion on the tour spurred backlash on social media over her comments about Dr. Luke, who she’s worked with on multiple occasions. (“I would like my fans to know that I wouldn’t work with somebody I believe to be an abuser of women, definitely not,” Petras told NME earlier this year when asked about Dr. Luke.)

Last night, Sivan released the below statement about Petras’ comments. After explaining his initial reasons for asking Petras to join the tour, he clarified that he hadn’t seen her recent comments about Dr. Luke. “I since have read them and was troubled by them, like you,” he wrote. “The opinions communicated in these interviews don’t align with my personal values or the values of the tour.”

Sivan said that he spoke to Petras and saw “where her heart is.” He continued, “I have always said that it’s how you grow and learn from your mistakes that truly matters, and I want to treat Kim the same way I’d like to be treated when my inevitable big mess up comes.” He said that he’ll be donating a portion of the tour’s proceeds to the Ally Coalition and will make a donation from the Bloom Tour to RAINN.

The outcry on social media prompted an apology statement from Petras on Friday. “While I’ve been open and honest about my positive experience with Dr. Luke, that does not negate or dismiss the experience of others or suggest that multiple perspectives cannot exist at once. I didn’t communicate this clearly in the past."

Dr. Luke sued Kesha for defamation in 2014 after she sued him for rape and “despicable conduct.” A judge dismissed Kesha’s rape and abuse claims against Luke in 2016. Kesha’s appeal to exit her contract with Dr. Luke was recently rejected. Luke’s lawyers recently filed new court documents seeking $50 million in damages from Kesha.

Read “What Does It Mean to Be an Apolitical Trans Pop Star?,” a recent op-ed about Petras on the Pitch.

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