Blind singer ‘Bernarda’ canceled in Switzerland due to pro-life views

A blind Swiss Croatian singer slated to perform at two musical festivals has been canceled after it was discovered that she participated in a pro-life event.

According to Spiked, Bernarda Brunovic was scheduled to perform at the M4Music festival in Zurich last month until the festival’s organizers, the Swiss supermarket chain Migros, canceled her performance the day before. Migros cited “[s]afety of the audience and all participants” as its reasoning. But the media is reporting that it was Brunovic’s personal pro-life beliefs that led to the cancellation.

Brunovic participated in the 2023 March for Life in Zurich, and when abortion supporters learned this, they threatened to disrupt the M4Music festival if she was allowed to perform.

“I don’t hate anyone,” she said. “We may have different opinions and, as a result, disagreements, but every single person has their own uniqueness, their own kindness, their own inviolable dignity.”

Spiked wrote:

M4Music claimed to be protecting Bernarda and the festival attendants from protests or violent backlash. But what it really cared about was enforcing ideological conformity. Migros admitted as much when it told left-wing news outlet Tages-Anzeiger that, while the festival does conduct background checks, its vetting process had ‘overlooked’ Bernarda’s past.

This is a blatant confession that she was being judged for her political and moral views. The implication is that, had they known about her anti-abortion views, the organisers never would have invited her at all. Clearly, they believe that certain thoughts and certain people are simply unfit for the public stage.

Then, the Saturday following the M4Music, Brunovic, who has been blind since birth, was scheduled to perform at another event. However, just as she prepared to go on stage, she was told she would not be performing.

BERNARDA - Colors

“In the past few days, people have spoken about me, but not to me,” she said in a video after the second event was scrubbed. “I’ve been cancelled, excluded, shut out, treated like a danger to society, like a ruin to other people’s reputation. I’ve been cancelled not just from the M4Music stage, but I’ve also been forbidden to even step on to another stage. I’m an artist, a musician who loves life. And I love and respect all people, regardless of their creed, nationality, ethnicity, race, sexual or political orientation, anything. Everybody’s got their right to their opinion or beliefs, and I’ve also got the right to mine.”

She added, “You can try to erase me, you can refuse to listen to me, but you won’t take my voice away, ever.”