There was some back-and-forth about Lily Allen’s work visa issues. We published an article a few weeks ago which stated that her visa had been revoked, and then updated it based on Allen’s publicists statement that the issue was blown out of proportion by the media. Well it turns out that the publicist was full of bull, because Lily has had to cancel her appearance at the MTV Music Awards and postpone her US tour.
“Her tour was due to begin in San Diego on 6 September but a record company spokesman said reinstating the visa was ‘taking longer than anticipated’.
“The visa was cancelled after Allen flew into Los Angeles and was questioned over an assault in London.
“’I’m so disappointed. I’ll be back as soon as I can,’ said the singer, 22.
“Her spokesman denied she had been dropped from the MTV ceremony in Las Vegas on 9 September.”
[From the BBC]
Publicists annoy the crap out of me. You can have stories from reputable sources like the AP, BBC, and Reuters and they’ll still say it’s not true. Just because you don’t want it to be true doesn’t mean it isn’t. Well even though Allen’s publicist called reports of her suspended work visa “rubbish” and said “’She’s in Las Vegas [shooting a video] right now,’” the reports were entirely true. All of the stories made it clear that Lily had been allowed into the country, but that her visa had been suspended which meant that she wouldn’t be allowed back into the country once she left. It’s screwy and makes no sense, but that’s how it works. Lily is said to be really upset, since she made a commitment to her fans. She canceled a string of US performances a few months ago, and was supposedly looking forward to a more successful tour.
“’She was not dropped from the awards and MTV are hugely disappointed that she will not be able to participate,’” he [Lily’s manager] said. The singer, whose hits include Smile, is nominated for best newcomer. ‘I was really looking forward to playing these shows and being part of the video music awards,’ Allen said.
“The singer had previously said she would do ‘everything I can’ to honour the US tour dates. Earlier this year, Allen postponed a string of other dates in the US saying she was “bored” and wanted to concentrate on her second album.
“She was arrested following an incident outside a London nightclub in March and this resulted in a caution for common assault. Allen is due to perform at this weekend’s V Festival after pulling out of several other European festivals due to illness.”
[From the BBC]
That sucks for Lily, as I can kind of understand going apeshit on a bunch of photographers. When we look at the pictures of celebrities, it normally just seems like there’s one photographer, or you even forget that they’re there. Then you see those videos of someone just walking down the street with a million flashes going off. I’m not saying we should feel sorry, I mean they’re famous, rich, and knew what they were getting into. But I can’t imagine how a person could function like that. It would be distracting and scary, so a well-aimed kick to a photog’s crotch once in a while may be understandable. But in a weird way I’m glad her visa was revoked, because she did commit a crime in her own country, and if anyone else did that, they wouldn’t be granted a visa. So I’m glad Lily’s no exception just because she’s famous. And I want to find her publicist and kick him in the crotch for all the double talk.
Picture note by JayBird: Here’s Lily at Kanye West 30th Birthday Party on June 7th. Header image of Lily at the Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix London premiere on July 3rd. Images thanks to PR Photos.
