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Members of Poland's conservative Law and Justice Party (PiS) lashed out at the Black Eyes Peas following the group's decision to wear rainbow armbands in a display of solidarity with the country's LGBTQ+ community.
The group appeared on the country's "New Year's Eve of Dreams" television program broadcast live from the city of Zakopane and took the stage to perform their 2003 hit song "Where is the Love?"
Before starting the song, singer will.i.am. called Poland a "wonderful country" for being so "open hearted" to "people in need of help," referring to the country's decision to host thousands of refugees who've fled Russia's ongoing war with Ukraine.
He added:
“We dedicate this song to people who have experienced hate this year: Jewish community, we love you, Africans around the world, we love you, LGBTQ community, we love you.”
You can watch will.i.am.'s statement and the performance in the video below.
\u201cWe gotta feeling that 2023's gonna be a good year\ud83d\ude08\n#BlackEyedPeas \nHappy New Year ! \n\n\u201d— e-wrzosek #FBPE\ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf1\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08#FundamentalRights (@e-wrzosek #FBPE\ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf1\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08#FundamentalRights) 1672559469
But members of Poland's far-right soon expressed disgust with the group's message.
Marcin Warchol, Deputy Justice Minister and a member of PiS, called the group's support of LGBTQ+ rights "a disgrace."
\u201cPromocja LGBT w #TVP2 . WSTYD! To nie #SylwesterMarze\u0144 lecz Sylwester Wynaturze\u0144.\u201d— Marcin Warcho\u0142 (@Marcin Warcho\u0142) 1672517731
A defiant will.i.am. defended the group's performance in the interest of "Unity, tolerance, understanding, oneness, respect, diversity [and] inclusion."
He added that "people are people" and that everyone should "practice to honor [and] love all the different types of people on earth [and] learn from them."
\u201c#WHEREStheLOVE??? \nUnity, tolerance, understanding, oneness, respect, diversity & inclusion\u2026THATS LOVE\u2026people are people & we should all practice to honor & love all the different types of people on earth & learn from them\u2026I LOVE YOU your country\u2026\u201d— will.i.am (@will.i.am) 1672524159
Although Warchol later accused the Black Eyed Peas of selling their "principles for profit" by not boycotting the recent World Cup over Qatar's "treatment of women, migrants, and the LGBTQ+ community," will.i.am. was firm that boycotting the World Cup was not the right call.
He wrote:
"We went to these places to spread LOVE... why boycott when you can go directly to the source that needs to be inspired and try your hardest to inspire them and spread LOVE... it's called #LOVE."
\u201cWe went to these places to spread LOVE\u2026why boycott when you can go directly to the source that needs to be inspired and try your hardest to inspire them and spread LOVE\u2026it\u2019s called #LOVE\u201d— will.i.am (@will.i.am) 1672527566
will.i.am. later published a video to his Instagram Stories taking aim at PiS and defending the Black Eyed Peas' decision to wear the rainbow armbands and perform in Poland, which has one of the worst LGBTQ+ human rights records in Europe.
He said:
“We are the Black Eyed Peas… not the Black Eyed PiS. We stand for unity, love, tolerance, oneness."
"Listen to our music. Songs like ‘Union’, ‘One Tribe’. Sometimes you’ve got to go where people don’t have the same views to inspire them on difference, to inspire them on what tolerance looks like."
"And so it’s been great being here. Poland is an awesome country. My times coming to Poland have always been awesome.”
You can see his video below.
\u201cWill I Am z Black Eyed Peas w\u0142a\u015bnie na Instagram m\u00f3wi\u0142 o tym, \u017ce oni s\u0105 Black Eyed Peas a nie Black Eyed PiS \ud83d\ude03\u201d— (((hellvis))) (@(((hellvis)))) 1672521403
Many have praised will.i.am. and the Black Eyed Peas for speaking out.
\u201cShout out to @bep for being LGBT+ allies on Poland's primary conservative TV network last night. I only wish I could see Kaczy\u0144ski's seething in person when it happened. Thank you for spreading love instead of hate \u2764\ufe0f\ud83c\udf08\u201d— \u272d \u15e9\u15f0ITY (@\u272d \u15e9\u15f0ITY) 1672582296
\u201cHuge respect @iamwill and thank you for this. There\u2019s more good Polish people than those filled with hatred! #WHEREStheLOVE\u201d— Adria (@Adria) 1672578576
\u201cSo little is needed for peace in the world - LOVE. It's a pity that there are people in Poland who don't understand this. It's a pity that they wave the Polish flag and are intolerant. Thanks for this message @iamwill\u201d— Johnny Kamikaze Brown #LegalTT #RuleOfLaw \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf1 (@Johnny Kamikaze Brown #LegalTT #RuleOfLaw \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf1) 1672529825
\u201cI respect you a lot! Thanks for that \u2764\ufe0f\u201d— Marta (@Marta) 1672568725
\u201cthis is what Poland needs, thank you\u201d— veronica (@veronica) 1672526567
\u201cI just waited for drama caused from this damn, but thanks for fighting with us\u201d— tina \ud83c\udf4a (@tina \ud83c\udf4a) 1672533399
Polish society tends to hold conservative views about issues dealing with LGBTQ+ rights. A majority of the Polish population is affiliated with the Catholic Church, and as such, public perception and acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community are strongly influenced by Catholic moral doctrines.
Although acceptance for the LGBTQ+ community has increased since the 1990s and early 2000s, Poland is the only country in central Europe that does not ban all anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination.