Madonna's pleas did not go over so well in Romania
Quote:A mid-performance plea for tolerance by pop superstar Madonna was met with boos by thousands of fans attending her Bucharest concert Wednesday night.
Madonna, currently on the eastern European leg of her Sticky and Sweet world tour, paused during her song La Isla Bonita to urge acceptance of the Roma people, also known as Gypsies.
"I've never been to Romania before and I am happy to be here," the singer said, according to the Romanian Times.
"But I found out that there is a lot of discrimination against Gypsies in Eastern Europe, and that makes me very sad, especially because we believe in acceptance, Gypsies, homosexuals, people that are different. Everyone must be treated the same, don't forget that!"
Earlier, the Roma musicians and a Roma dancer who appeared during Madonna's concert received applause for their performance. But thousands among the packed crowd of approximately 60,000 reacted to Madonna's statement with boos and jeers.
The singer herself simply continued with her concert.
"I jeered her because it seemed false what she was telling us. What business does she have telling us these things?" said Ionut Dinu, a 23-year-old concertgoer.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/music/story/2009/08/27/madonna-roma-bucharest-concert.html
In know from living in Germany that the Gypsies are passionately disliked, and show no interest in being liked by the majority.
