Zedd has been banned in China. For liking a tweet. Sent by the official Southpark handle. Full stop. Initially reported via his own tweet, the global superstar DJ announced on Thursday the 10th, that he is no longer welcome in China. This comes after a wave of banhammers made their way around the world in an attempt to send a message to those providing any sort of commentary around the current Hong Kong protests.
I just got permanently banned from China because I liked a @SouthPark tweet.
— Zedd (@Zedd) October 10, 2019
For those of you who haven’t recently watched the show recently, Southpark ran two recent episodes (#299 and major milestone #300) that provided very sharp criticism on the current global affairs surrounding China’s standoff with Hong Kong protesters. It also shined more light on major global corporations and the concessions they make to reach China’s growing consumer base. The offending tweet in question?
🎉 It’s our 300th episode tonight! Which is your favorite episode and why? #southpark300 pic.twitter.com/OH25s1qAFr
— South Park (@SouthPark) October 9, 2019
Was that really enough to warrant a response from China? CNN reported that Zedd’s camp confirmed his banned status around the time of liking the tweet, but there wasn’t a direct answer as to the tweet being the only reason. Given the recent NBA threats/reaction to more direct commentary with China and Hong Kong, this might not seem too far fetched.
At risk of oversimplifying the situation, we acknowledge that we’re a music site. Our focus is always about music, we encourage you all to read further on all of this as knowledge is power.
Stay tuned.