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Michael Rapino responds to Trump’s ‘Muslim ban’

The Live Nation president/CEO said in an memo to staff the company is "fundamentally opposed to an immigration policy that divides us along religious lines or borders"

By IQ on 03 Feb 2017

No Muslim Ban protestors, Washington DC, Joe Flood

Protests against executive order 13769 in Washington, DC


image © Joe Flood

The president and CEO of Live Nation, Michael Rapino, has issued a statement to staff in response to US president Donald Trump’s controversial ‘Muslim ban’.

Trump’s recently introduced executive order 13769, which bars the entry of Iraqis, Iranians, Libyans, Somalians, Sudanese, Syrians and Yemenis – all majority-Muslim nations – into the US for 90 days, has been criticised by the opponents of the president as Islamophobic and sparked protests around the world.

The internal memo, seen by Hits, reads: “Over the past few days, I’ve heard from many of you with concerns about the immigration ban and the uncertainty facing the US.

“Live Nation is global and diverse. We operate in 41 countries and have employees on every continent. Whether you are an employee, artist or fan, Live Nation respects all viewpoints and is fundamentally opposed to an immigration policy that divides us along religious lines or borders.

“Live Nation respects all viewpoints and is fundamentally opposed to an immigration policy that divides us along religious lines or borders”

“I want to assure you that HR [human resources] has reached out to those in our organisation who are potentially affected by the ban and we will continue to help our employees in any way possible to navigate through this confusing time.

“I encourage you to come to me directly with your concerns and ideas about how to improve and empower our workplace with diversity and tolerance.”

Direct-to-fan platform Bandcamp – whose CEO, Ethan Diamond, also opposes the executive order – will today donate all profits to the American Civil Liberties Union to help counter the ban.

 


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