Elton John will not perform at an Egyptian concert due to a ban from Egypt’s Music Union.

According to the foreign news agency DPA, Mounir al-Wasimi, head of the Music Union, said he could not sanction an event from “a homosexual who wants to ban religions, claimed that the prophet Issa (Jesus) was gay and calls for Middle Eastern countries to allow gays to have sexual freedom.”

Some months ago, John had said, “I think Jesus was a compassionate, super-intelligent gay man who understood human problems,” he told Parade in February. “On the cross, he forgave the people who crucified him. Jesus wanted us to be loving and forgiving. I don’t know what makes people so cruel. Try being a gay woman in the Middle East — you’re as good as dead.”

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