A Florida religious college abruptly cancelled a concert after learning that one of the Grammy Award-winning troupe's singers is gay.
The British a cappella group The King's Singers had been scheduled to perform Saturday night at Pensacola Christian College, but their appearance was called off with just two hours' notice because officials said "one of the artists openly maintained a lifestyle that contradicts Scripture," reported the Pensacola News Journal.
"The school gave its reason for cancellation as 'concerns' expressed about the 'lifestyle' of members of our group," the group said in a statement. "It has become clear to us, from a flood of correspondence from students and members of the public, that these concerns related to the sexuality of members of our group."
According to the Friendly Atheist, a student looked up the group and determined through social media that one of the singers was gay and alerted a dean, and the concert was shut down.
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The King's Singers said they had performed at the the fundamentalist college in the past and understood the institution's principles, but the cancellation caught them off guard.
"Our belief is that music can build a common language that allows people with different views and perspectives to come together," their statement reads. "This is the first time that anything other than bad weather, the pandemic or war has caused a concert cancellation in our 55-year history. We are disappointed not to have been able to share our music and our mission of finding harmony with over 4,000 students of the college and the wider Pensacola community. We hope that any conversations that follow might encourage a greater sense of love, acceptance and inclusion."
The college released its own statement Monday, saying the performance would have implied an endorsement of the singer's sexual identity.
"The college cannot knowingly give an implied or direct endorsement of anything that violates the Holy Scripture, the foundation for our sincerely held beliefs," the college's statement reads. "At the same time, the college also recognizes everyone is created in the image of God and should be afforded the dignity of kindness. PCC canceled a concert with The King's Singers upon learning that one of the artists openly maintained a lifestyle that contradicts Scripture. The highly talented musicians were treated with dignity and respect when informed of the cancellation. The artists stated their understanding and acceptance of the change and were given full remuneration."