A blind Swiss Croatian singer is speaking out after being canceled from two music festivals because she reportedly participated in a pro-life event.
Bernarda Brunovic rose to fame in 2018 for being one of the standout performers on “The Voice Germany.” She has since built upon her success performing throughout Europe.
In April, she was slated to perform at the M4Music festival in Zurich, Switzerland according to Spiked Online. However, the organizers pulled the plug once they learned she participated in the 2023 March for Life in Zurich.
“This was a gathering ostensibly devoted to celebrating artistic expression. The festival organisers, Swiss supermarket chain Migros, had other plans,” Andrea Seaman wrote for the outlet.
A group of “online agitators” said her presence at the festival would be “intolerable,” and some went so far as to promise that they would disrupt the festival if she performed.
Migros cited that it canceled her performance for the safety of the audience and all participants, but Seaman argues the singer was canceled for other reasons.
“This is a blatant confession that she was being judged for her political and moral views. The implication is that, had they known about her anti-abortion views, the organisers never would have invited her at all. Clearly, they believe that certain thoughts and certain people are simply unfit for the public stage,” Seaman wrote.
“I don’t hate anyone,” said Brunovic, who was born blind, taking a more neutral stance. “We may have different opinions and, as a result, disagreements, but every single person has their own uniqueness, their own kindness, their own inviolable dignity.”
However, a week later, Brunovic was cancelled from another event just minutes before she was to get on stage.
This time, the 31-year-old did not quietly accept the backlash. Instead, she took to Instagram to defend herself.
“In the past few days, people have spoken about me, but not to me,” she said. “I’ve been cancelled, excluded, shut out, treated like a danger to society, like a ruin to other people’s reputation. I’ve been cancelled not just from the M4Music stage, but I’ve also been forbidden to even step on to another stage. I’m an artist, a musician who loves life. And I love and respect all people, regardless of their creed, nationality, ethnicity, race, sexual or political orientation, anything. Everybody’s got their right to their opinion or beliefs, and I’ve also got the right to mine.”
She added, “You can try to erase me, you can refuse to listen to me, but you won’t take my voice away, ever.”
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