Petition seeks to ban Robin Thicke from Winnipeg Juno Awards
CBC News | Posted: March 28, 2014 9:37 PM | Last Updated: March 28, 2014
Ottawa woman accuses Thicke of "blatant sexism"
An online petition to get singer Robin Thicke removed from the Winnipeg Juno Awards show now has more than 800 names.
Catherine Vanner of Ottawa, Ont., has claimed credit for the petition which appears on the website change.org.
Thicke is nominated for three Juno awards and is scheduled to perform at the show at Winnipeg's MTS Centre on Sunday, March 30.
Thicke is up for Artist of the Year, Pop Album of the Year, and the Juno Fan Choice Award, largely for his hugely popular song and music video, Blurred Lines.
According to the petition, the song and video "contribute to a growing rape culture that disregards the importance of consent and blames victims for their abuse rather than their rapists."
The Blurred Lines video features women dressed in nude-coloured thongs posing in compromising positions, which is degrading to women, according to the petition.
"Tell the JUNO Awards not to reward rape culture, but instead to take action against it by removing Robin Thicke from all nominations and cancelling his scheduled performance at the award show," the petition stated.
"Let the Junos and Robin Thicke know that there is a clear line when it comes to respect for women, and they’re on the wrong side of it."
At 4:30 p.m. CT on Friday March 28, two days before the awards show in Winnipeg, the petition had 825 supporters.