On Monday evening, American singer LP (Laura Pergolizzi), who was due to perform in Lithuania on March 4, surprised her fans by sharing a video on Instagram where she was wearing a hoodie decorated with the colours of the Russian flag and the words “LP Russia Official”. On Tuesday afternoon, Kaunas Žalgiris Arena announced the cancellation of the singer’s concert.

The singer, who has already performed several times in Lithuania and has a large fan base here, explained in the video that the hoodie was a gift from her fans in Russia.

She also showed a postcard from them, saying that the gift was made back in 2020 when the signer’s shows were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, so it was only delivered now.

Interestingly, the postcard was signed on February 24, the second anniversary of the Russian large-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In the video, LP thanked and tagged her Russian fan club account. Later, the video was deleted, and the singer shared a new message on Instagram.

“I am so proud of and grateful for my fans everywhere in the world, and I know there are many Ukrainian refugees in the Baltics, and I’d like my Ukrainian friends to know how much I support you. I have always supported you and love you,” the singer said but did not mention the previous video.

After the singer appeared wearing the hoodie with the Russian flag, calls to boycott and maybe even cancel her upcoming concert at Kaunas Žalgiris Arena started spreading on social media.

Remigijus Knabikas, the head of Medusa Concert, first said there were no plans to cancel LP’s concert in Kaunas.

“What is the basis for cancelling the concert? Just because she met Russian fans? Clearly, such actions are definitely out of time and out of place. People react strongly here, but you have to understand that Americans are detached, they don’t understand our situation. LP did not express any support for Russia, she just got emotional over a supposedly nice story,” he told the tv3.lt news website.

Later, Medusa Concert also issued an official press release. According to the organisers, they contacted the singer’s management regarding the video.

“We would like to stress that Medusa Concert strongly condemns Russian aggression and has always supported, is supporting, and will support Ukraine. [...] The video that has appeared on the internet has confused and angered us as much as it has angered other people in Lithuania,” the press release read.

According to the organisers, after talking to the artist’s management, it has become clear that LP is very sorry for her indiscretion and regrets that she did not think she could offend so many people.

“She has never supported an aggressor country and wholeheartedly supports Ukrainians. This is what she said in her video uploaded tonight after realising her mistake. Therefore, together with the singer, Medusa Concert, the organiser of LP’s concert, sincerely apologises to everyone for her obvious mistake and wishes Ukraine victory!” the statement said.

Later on Tuesday afternoon, it was clarified that Kaunas Žalgiris Arena was cancelling LP’s concert, which had to take place on March 4.

“Kaunas Žalgiris has a clear civic and value position – we strongly support Ukraine. Together with the organisers of the event, we have been clarifying the situation since yesterday evening, but, as we announced on social media yesterday, our position remains firm – the concert must be cancelled,” said Mantas Vedrickas, head of Event Organisation at Žalgiris Arena.

“After the facts were confirmed, together with the event organisers Medusa Concert, we took the joint decision to cancel the concert. With this decision, we want to draw the attention of both LP and other artists planning events in Lithuania that we will not tolerate messages supporting the aggressor country,” he added.

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