RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – Singer Cyndi Lauper will take the stage in Raleigh on Saturday night.
While a number of stars have cancelled events after the passage of NC House Bill 2, WNCN-TV’s North Carolina’s Lauren Haviland sat down with Lauper to find out why she decided to perform.
“Why did you continue to bring your tour here to North Carolina?” Haviland asked.
“To do this. To educate,” Lauper said, while at the LGBT Center of Raleigh.
Like many artists, Cyndi Lauper put North Carolina as one of the stops during their tour.
But many, like the singer, had a reaction when Governor Pat McCrory signed House Bill 2 into law.
“I was just surprised that you would want to that you would want to go back to that kind of law that would promote that much discrimination,” Lauper said Saturday.
Bruce Springsteen is one singer who decided to cancel his concert in North Carolina.
“If you don’t have an inclusive society, we’re not going to be able to compete in this world, and I thought we got past this, and obviously we didn’t. That’s why I came here,” Lauper said.
As part of her stop in Raleigh, Lauper visited the LGBT Center of Raleigh, and spoke to several young men and women dealing with the impacts of House Bill 2.
“If we don’t embrace our future, and help them to succeed, we’re not going to get very far in this world,” Lauper said.
Lauper said she believes the only way people will understand is through education.
“It’s not just about bathrooms. Be educated. It’s about real, real discrimination,” Lauper said.
Lauper is donating the proceeds from Saturday night’s show to Equality North Carolina.