Georgian opera star fired for anti-gay Facebook post

Georgian opera singer Tamar Iveri has been fired for apparently posting an ‘anti-gay’ Facebook message.

Opera Australia have described Iveri’s post as “unconscionable”, and have confirmed that she will no longer appear in their production of Otello next month, The Independent reports.

Last week, in a Facebook letter responding to a protest by LGBT activists in the capital city of Tbilisi, Iveri wrote to Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili asking him to “stop vigorous attempts to bring [the] West’s fecal masses” into the country.

The singer was heavily criticised for the post, but she insisted that it was her husband who wrote the letter, explaining that he is “a very religious man with a tough attitude toward gay people”.

Opera Australia released the following statement: “Opera Australia has reached agreement with Ms Iveri to immediately release her from her contract with the company.”

Meanwhile, it has also been reported that an opera in Brussels has dropped Iveri from another production, which she was due to star in next year.

Iveri released a further statement today (June 23), saying that she took the decision to “withdraw” from the production to “ensure that the performances take place undisturbed by any further controversy”.

She maintained that the controversial message was the work of her husband.

She commented: “I have never been prejudiced against anyone, whether for religious, or racial reasons, or for any other kind of prejudice including those regarding sexual preference. I abhor prejudice in any form altogether.”

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