Popular American rock band Maroon 5 has scrapped its upcoming China gig, sparking rumours that it was refused permission after a group member met Tibet's exile spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on his 80th birthday.
Tour organiser Live Nation, yesterday, abruptly cancelled a September concert in Shanghai by the band, without giving an explanation, reported CNN.
Disappointed fans linked it with the band's musician Jesse Carmichael's meeting with the Tibetan leader.
He attended a star-studded event on July 4, Independence Day in the United States, near Los Angeles to celebrate the 80th birthday of the Dalai Lama.
In a Twitter post from that evening, the musician sounded excited.
"Happy Birthday America (and The Dalai Lama too) sang happy birthday to his holiness today with a...," followed by a link to Instagram, the photo-sharing site.
Both the tweet and the photo have been deleted, but a cached version of his post is still available online.
The show was scrapped "for a reason," said Live Nation in a vaguely worded statement, before apologising to the public and promising ticket buyers a quick refund.
Forced into exile after a failed uprising against Beijing's rule in 1959, the Dalai Lama, a Nobel peace laureate, is despised by the ruling Communist leadership as a separatist, who is trying to split Tibet from China.
In 2011, Linkin Park, another popular American rock band, was barred from China after it was photographed embracing and shaking hands with the Dalai Lama at a youth conference in Los Angeles.
Linkin Park will finally make a return after a five-year hiatus, holding concerts in Shanghai and Beijing next week.
