An Australian woman who faced rape and death threats from fans of a rap group whose visas have been cancelled is thrilled the group won't be coming to New Zealand.
Odd Future was scheduled open for Eminem at the Rapture 2014 concert in Auckland on Saturday night, but their visas were revoked by Immigration New Zealand on the grounds they pose a potential threat to public order, and have incited violence during their performances.
Odd Future's Tyler the Creator, right, and Earl Sweatshirt. Photo: AFP / Getty Images North America
It is the first time musicians have been barred from coming to New Zealand in this way.
Talitha Stone unsuccessfully campaigned against one of the members of Odd Future, Tyler the Creator, being allowed to perform in Sydney in 2013. He then raged against her at the concert and Immigration New Zealand says the threats against her from fans were part of the reason it cancelled the visas.
Ms Stone told Radio New Zealand's Checkpoint programme on Friday she is pleased with the decision.
"I understand that people do think that these are just lyrics or it's just a persona, but when you see the immediate reaction of the fans of these type of artists it is to respond with rape and death threats. And if I can stop one rapper from going to a country that is promoting it, then of course I'm going to do that."
Ms Stone said New South Wales police have told her Tyler won't be allowed back into Australia because of the threats against her.
An anti-sexual violence group claims it has also been subject to a stream of abuse since Immigration New Zealand banned Odd Future.
Denise Ritchie from the Stop Demand Foundation told Radio New Zealand's Morning Report programme on Friday the bands' lyrics were hate speech which desensitised people to rape. The organisation had lobbied for a ban, and said it was now being targeted by angry fans over Immigration New Zealand's decision.
Ms Ritchie said vitriol and abuse was being left on her phone, the foundation's Facebook page and on email, and it had reached the point where she was having to have someone else monitor what was coming in.
"It is certainly getting a conversation started, and given the amount of vitriol, the hate and the threat that our group has been under, and I particularly have been under, in the last 12 hours, we would say we rest our case.
''I mean the kind of language, the threats of rape and murder that I'm receiving are almost identical to the lyrics in these songs. Now people have to start connecting the dots."
Minister criticised
Former Immigration Minister Aussie Malcolm says it should have been up to current minister Michael Woodhouse to gauge the public mood and decide if the rappers were allowed entry to New Zealand.
"Some will say it's right, some will say it's wrong. Some immigration officer who's not accountable in a public elected sense is having to make this fine judgement call and the minister's nowhere to be seen. Whatever happened to the concept of ministers actually being accountable and doing their job?"
However, Mr Woodhouse's office said on Friday it was right that the department made the call, because it was an operational decision.
Immigration New Zealand has said that if Odd Future want to come to New Zealand as a group in the future, the application will be assessed on its merits at the time.
Border operations manager Karen Urwin said the issue was with Odd Future as a group and if they wanted to come as individuals there would be no problem. She said the Immigration Act was clear that New Zealand can refuse to let people in who pose a risk to public order.
Backlash warning
A music writer is warning there could be a further backlash by fans and other artists at the Auckland event itself.
Duncan Greive told Morning Report there is a greater chance of trouble at the concert now that the group has been prevented from performing. He told the programme the move to ban the group may provoke a reaction from fans, and from Eminem, the headline act at the concert.
"I've seen the band in concert and I've very rarely, if ever, seen a room of young people engaged in such joyous activity. It was so squeaky-clean in terms of the response. The lyrics when they are quoted are completely deprived of context.
''I think that they can read very unpleasantly, but in terms of the threat to public order I would think there is a much greater chance of there being trouble at the show on Saturday now that they've been banned."
Variety magazine music critic Andrew Barker told Morning Report Odd Future had been the flashpoint for debate among music critics and moral watchdogs since it emerged, so the furore in New Zealand was no surprise.
Although the band had attracted attention for fan violence, as well as damaging equipment on-stage, he said none of its antics had gone beyond those of other notable groups such as The Sex Pistols.
Mr Baker said the accusations of inciting violence against police sound much more serious than the evidence suggests.
