Nicki Minaj And Shawn Mendes Refuse To Let The Terrorists Win

In the wake of the deadly attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester Arena on Monday night, artists including Blondie and Take That have postponed or canceled shows in the United Kingdom “out of respect” for the victims. 

But two other major names have already come out to make one thing clear: They will not let terrorists scare them away from playing for their fans.

Both Nicki Minaj and Shawn Mendes have said publicly that they will continue to play on in spite of any and all fears related to the attack.

“Concerts are events people should never be afraid to attend, they are places for love and complete happiness [and I] am so sorry that things took an opposite direction last night,” Mendes wrote on Instagram.

“I hope I speak for every [a]rtist by saying that we will not stop spreading positivity and love through music no matter the situation.”

Minaj said much of the same thing when she was approached by TMZ at an airport. “We don’t operate in fear,” she said. Canceling the shows, she said, would imply “that they [the terrorists] win.”

She added that she planned to head to Manchester to play a show for the people there, although it sounds like that won’t happen until next year.

“Of course I’m going to perform for my Manchester fans,” she said. “They deserve it.”

Mendes and Minaj are the biggest names to publicly say they will not live their lives on terrorists’ terms. But others have implied as much with their actions. Celine Dion’s publicist said she has no plans to cancel her upcoming dates in Europe. According to the AP, Guns N’ Roses, Phil Collins and Iron Maiden will continue on with their planned touring schedule, as well. 

The music festival known as BBC Radio One Big Weekend sounds like it will also go off in Hull this weekend, as previously scheduled. Acts booked to perform include Haim, Lorde and Lana Del Rey.

In light of the tragedy, though, Grande’s team released a statement announcing their plans to cancel part of her Dangerous Woman tour:

Due to the tragic events in Manchester the Dangerous Woman tour with Ariana Grande has been suspended until we can further assess the situation and pay our proper respects to those lost. The London O2 shows this week have been cancelled as well as all shows thru June 5 in Switzerland. We ask at this time that we all continue to support the city of Manchester and all those families affected by this cowardice and senseless act of violence. Our way of life has once again been threatened but we will overcome this together. Thank you.

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