The Mayhem scheduled for next Tuesday, the 21st, in Porto Alegre has been cancelled by the venue following a complaint from a politician attempting to prevent the performance and subsequent protests.
This week, the band's performance in Brazil gained enormous repercussion after state deputy Leonel Radde (PT), from Rio Grande do Sul, made a video accusing Mayhem of neo-Nazism and contacted the authorities to cancel the show.
The incident caused a major movement on social media demanding the cancellation of the event and even in-person protests in front of Bar Opinião, the venue where the event was to be held, with a banner against Nazi ideologies placed in front of the concert hall.
In an official statement released on the evening of Thursday, the 16th, Bar Opinião announced the cancellation of the event and the refund of purchased tickets. “In recent days we have been surprised by a flood of serious information and posts on social media regarding the Mayhem band's show,” they wrote. “However, Opinião considered several factors in making its decisions: the movements on social media both for and against the event, comments inciting demonstrations at the venue and in the vicinity of the Bar, and the potential risk to the physical safety of everyone involved. Therefore, Bar Opinião will not host the Mayhem band's show.”.
Following the cancellation by the Porto Alegre concert venue, Representative Leonel also requested a statement from the production company Ablaze , responsible for the tour.
“Victory for the anti-fascist mobilization,” celebrated the politician, whose mandate is declared as Antifa. “I would like to congratulate Bar Opinião for releasing this statement and we request that the production company do the same because our capital does not deserve a show by a band whose members make racist remarks and openly flirt with neo-Nazism.”.
Just hours after the venue announced the cancellation, the production company Ablaze also issued a statement to formalize the decision. “We believe that our history of producing events is in itself a declaration that we do not support or tolerate any form of discrimination or crimes such as racism and homophobia and/or the glorification of Nazism or any other discrimination. We scheduled the Mayhem show in Porto Alegre as part of their extensive ongoing tour of Latin America, and, until now, we believed that the band had no involvement with a neo-Nazi movement. Otherwise, we would not have considered holding the show,” they explained.
Mayhem will still come to Brazil to perform in Brasília next Wednesday, the 22nd, at Toinha Show Brasil. The venue has not commented on the cancellation in the South, but has shared several posts from fans of the band asking for the show to go ahead as scheduled, and continues to promote the event on social media .
Mayhem's last visit to Brazil was in November 2022, when the band performed at festivals in São Paulo and Maranhão.
Read the full statement from Bar Opinião and the production company Ablaze below.
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