Australian fans are confused because the organizer of R&B singer Chris Brown's four-city concert tour in December started selling tickets on Monday despite a visa denial. The tickets for the Sydney concert, to be held at Allphones Arena on Dec. 14, costs from $100 to $500.
The Sydney Morning Herald entertainment writer Sarah Thomas tweeted Ticketek Australia to confirm if the tickets go on sale as scheduled and the company's policy is the show would be cancelled. Ticketek Australia replied that it has not received any information on changes to the tour, thus ticket sales will proceed as scheduled, beginning at Monday noon.
The organizer did not reply to Thomas's repeated query on its policy in case of show cancellation. Even Brown, in an Instagram post, insists the concert will push through even if Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton had said the visa is denied because of his domestic violence conviction for strangling and attacking then girlfriend Rihanna in 2009.
"It's media and all bulls - - - ... We gone party," The Music Network quotes Brown's IG post.
Ticketek belies media reports that the singer's visa application was denied by the Aussie government. It said in a statement that the application is "currently being considered by the office of the Immigration Minister." It adds that the "continued personal growth" of Brown, who underwent rehabilitation for the incident, would influence Dutton's decision.
The concert organizer likewise pointed out that Brown had visited Australia twice since 2009 and his "on-going philanthropic endeavors and desire to perform for his fans," as reasons to convince Dutton to grant Brown a visa. Dutton gave Brown 28 days to present evidence that would convince him to allow the "wife-beater" performer to enter Australia, reports Washington Times.
Brown is also eyeing a New Zealand leg of the December tour and tickets likewise went on sale also on Monday noon In New Zealand even if the country's former justice minister recommended also denying Brown a visa. Britain and Canada had also previously banned Brown.