Barenaked Ladies Cancel SeaWorld Gig

The Orlando concert was announced last week, and the band was immediately criticized.

A Twitter user called @paddersmoose responded to a tweet from the BNL’s fan club about the SeaWorld gig by tweeting, “Poor decision. Motivated by money.” He added, “Watch @blackfishmovie. Then cancel the show. Please.”

The documentary portrays the reported mistreatment of killer whales in captivity as well as the subsequent consequences and danger to trainers. “Blackfish” features the story of Tilikum, a 12,000-pound orca that was captured near Iceland in 1983 and was eventually sold to SeaWorld in Orlando. Tilikum has killed three people, including a SeaWorld trainer in 2010.

Barenaked Ladies said they decided to cancel the event after paying attention to fans’ outcries on Facebook and through a Change.org petition.

“Hey everybody. We’ve talked things over, and decided not to play at Seaworld at this time. We watch movies too, ya know! Have you seen Star Trek IV? It’s quite good. Kidding… We sometimes do that,” the band wrote in a post on its Facebook page Nov. 27.

“This is a complicated issue, and we don’t claim to understand all of it, but we don’t feel comfortable proceeding with the gig at this time. The Seaworld folks have been gracious, and extended us invitations to the park to learn more about what they do, and how they do it.

“We encourage anybody and everybody to get involved with a charity organization they feel passionate about. We here at Barenaked Ladies have made a decision based on what we feel. It’s not about money, or petitions, or press … But it is about our fans. We listen to them, and they’re important to us. Their sensibilities resonate with ours, and have for decades now. We’ve grown up together. Ultimately though, we made the decision that WE feel good about.

“Thanks for all of your support. We’ll see you all at a mutually agreeable concert venue in the near future!