Polish government politicians condemn “disgrace” as Black Eyed Peas wear rainbow armbands during state TV concert

Members of the American pop band Black Eyed Peas wore rainbow armbands in support of the LGBT+ community during last night’s New Year’s Eve concert organised by the Polish state broadcaster TVP.

The station has in recent years played a part in the ruling national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party’s campaign against what it calls “LGBT ideology”. After the concert, Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.I.am appeared to directly criticise PiS.

The show, which had an audience of 8.3 million, sparked outrage among politicians of United Poland (Solidarna Polska), a hardline junior coalition partner of PiS, who called it a “disgrace” and condemned the celebration of “deviancy”.

Black Eyed Peas were announced as the headline act at TVP’s showpiece New Year’s Eve of Dreams, a live show in the mountain resort of Zakopane, after the previous star, ex-Spice Girl Melanie C pulled out, citing “issues that do not align with the communities I support”.

During the concert, which according to media reports may have cost public television $1 million, the band performed in rainbow armbands and dedicated their hit song “Where Is the Love?” “to unity”, naming communities experiencing hate such as Jews, people of African descent and LGBTQ+ people.

“We are the Black Eyed Peas…or you can say Black Eyed Peace, because we are for peace, equality, harmony. We are not the Black Eyed PiS,” said singer Will.I.am on his social media after the concert.

“We stand for unity, love, tolerance, oneness,” he continued. “Sometimes you gotta go where people don’t have the same views to inspire them on difference, to inspire them on what tolerance looks like.”

The performance was criticised by many conservative figures, including two deputy government ministers.

“LGBT promotion in TVP2 . DISGRACE! It’s not a New Year’s Eve of Dreams but a New Year’s Eve of Deviancy,” said deputy justice minister Marcin Warchoł in a tweet last night.

“Homopropaganda on TVP for $1 million,” wrote in turn deputy agriculture minister Janusz Kowalski. Both politicians hail from United Poland, whose leader, justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro, has often attacked so-called “LGBT ideology”.

However, Joanna Lichocka, a PiS MP and member of the National Media Council, which oversees public broadcasters, encouraged her coalition colleagues to have fun instead of commenting on the performance.

“Gentlemen of United Poland, drink champagne on New Year’s Eve. Instead of lashing out politically even now. Poland wants to have fun today – turn off the instigation. Have a good New Year,” she wrote.

The TVP presenter running the New Year’s concert, Tomasz Kammel, said on stage that it was all planned, “including every element of their outfits”.

PiS, which has been in power in Poland since 2015, used anti-LGBT rhetoric during the 2019 and 2020 election cycles to mobilise conservative voters, portraying what it called “LGBT ideology” as a foreign set of values threatening Polish, values, families and even the state itself.

As well as presenting news coverage critical of “LGBT ideology”, TVP has also produced its own material aimed at exposing the “aims, methods and money” behind Poland’s LGBT community.

Critics argue that this and other politically motivated campaigns carried out by TVP prove that it has become a “propaganda” outlet for the ruling party.

Main photo credit: TVP2, New Year’s Eve of Dreams (screenshot)

Alicja Ptak

Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.