Russell Brand cancels Middle East shows over threats

British comedian Russell Brand has canceled his shows in Lebanon and Abu Dhabi amid threats from extremists.
Brand believes his look on the promotional poster for his upcoming Messiah Complex world tour may have caused the reaction.
"Those gigs have been banned, pulled because of threats from extremists that if I went there there would be problems," Brand told the BBC's Radio 5 Live.
"The image by the brilliant artist Shepard Fairey depicts me as looking a little Christ-like... So there's an indication that it might be offensive. If you are in some sort of fundamentalist group and Google my name and watch a few things on YouTube you might just think 'don't bother having him here'," Brand added.

His tour will now skip the Middle East entirely and instead stick to the US, Canada, South Africa and Europe.