Mexican governor defends Marilyn Manson concert following backlash
A Mexican governor has defended his decision to host a free Marilyn Manson concert earlier this month.
The concert, which was free to attend, took place on August 10th in San Luis Potosí, and over 200,000 people were in the crowd to watch Manson perform.
It comes after Archbishop Jorge Cavazos Arizpe of San Luis Potosí wrote to the governor demanding that the concert be cancelled. The Catholic leader said to the local press in June: “I have sent a letter about it to the governor asking him exactly, for the society’s sake and the sake of all Christians.”
He added: “I don’t know that person [Manson], only in a general way. But if we understand that situations of evil can be caused, as a Church – united with our Lord Jesus – we cannot promote any kind of insinuation of evil. We have to attack all situations.”
In a new interview with Billboard Español, Governor Gallardo Cardona said that his decision to book Manson was an act in “defense of freedom of expression”. He also claimed there is a “cultural lag” in Mexico because of “conservative mindsets”.
The governor said, “There will always be opposing voices, and Marilyn Manson has faced them not just in Mexico but in other parts of the world too.”
Cardona continued: “This isn’t about religion; it’s about cultural justice, about creating unity, and we must do it through music.”
Meanwhile, in June, Green Party MP Siân Berry successfully lobbied Brighton and Hove City Council to cancel Manson’s upcoming performance at the Brighton Centre, which will no longer be going ahead.
In January, prosecutors in California dropped an investigation into Manson, real name Brian Warner, following a series of sexual assault and domestic violence allegations. Warner, who was never charged, strongly denied the accusations through his legal team, labelling the claims as “falsehoods”.
However, Berry said: “The level and nature of the accusations against Warner are concerning enough alone, but so too is the message sent out by providing a platform for this individual, at our city’s biggest publicly owned venue, and what this will mean to survivors.”
Ticketmaster subsequently informed ticket holders that the event was cancelled.
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