The Union of Russian Citizens, the People's Assembly and the New Great Russia party have filed a lawsuit against Madonna for $10.5 million, saying that her recent actions in support of LBGT causes has caused "psychological stress and emotional shock" to her audience.
Madonna handed out pink anti-homophobia wristbands at a recent Russian show, telling the audience to "fight for the right to be free." Her actions were in response to St. Petersburg recently passing a new law banning the yearly gay pride parade for promoting "gay lifestyles."
The suing groups said that, beyond the audience at the show, the comments from the singer affected citizens who witnessed them in news reports and via word-of-mouth. The Union of Russian Citizens said "We demand that she pay for moral damage suffered by St Petersburg residents as a result of her actions during the show on August 9. We must defend our right to normal cultural life without propaganda of values and views that contradict the Russian culture."
According to Britain's Guardian, activist Darya Dedova said "She had been warned with words that she should behave in line with the law and she ignored it. So we will speak in the language of money. Of course, it is difficult to measure moral damages and suffering but maybe people who earn money regardless of moral rules will better understand this."
Another activist, Alexei Kolotkov, said "Maybe someone does not see the link but after Madonna's concert maybe some boy becomes gay, some girl becomes lesbian, fewer children are born as a result and this big country cannot defend its borders - for me it causes moral suffering."
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