Joss Stone was on the final leg of her mammoth world tour when she got deported from Iran yesterday. According to the singer, she was detained for the night and then deported by Iranian authorities when they refused to believe she wouldn't attempt to play a public show in the country.
In Iran, it's illegal for women to perform solo shows. While it unclear why Joss was there, she said she was simply planning to "bring good feeling with what I have to give and show those who want to look, the positives of our globe."
In a video posted to Instagram, she wrote: "We were aware there couldnt be a public concert as I am a woman and that is illegal in this country. Personally I dont fancy going to an Iranian prison nor am I trying to change the politics of the countries I visit nor do I wish to put other people in danger. However, it seems the authoritys dont believe we wouldnt be playing a public show so they have popped us on what they call the black list". Dressed in a white headscarf, she went on to say "so close yet so far, this moment broke a little piece of my heart."
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So , our very last country on the list was Iran . We were aware there couldnt be a public concert as I am a woman and that is illegal in this country. Personally I dont fancy going to an Iranian prison nor am I trying to change the politics of the countries I visit nor do I wish to put other people in danger. However, it seems the authoritys dont believe we wouldnt be playing a public show so they have popped us on what they call the black list as we found out when we turned up to the immigration hall. After long discussions with the most friendly charming and welcoming immigration people the decision was made to detain us for the night and to deport us in the morning. Of course I was gutted. So close yet so far, this moment broke a little piece of my heart. Then I realised the silver lining was bright. I told them my story and explained my mission, to bring good feeling with what I have to give and show those who want to look, the positives of our globe. All with the understanding that public performance wasnt an option in this scenario. I still have to walk forward towards that goal some way some how. And of course music is my driver. Doesnt mean we have to brake any laws though. There is music everywhere. Even here, we just have to play by there rules and they have to believe we will. Its a trust thing. They were so kind to us, at one point I started to question it. The question whirled around my head, were they just luring is into a false sense of security so we would walk into our jail cells quietly with out a drama? Nope , these people are genuinely nice kind people that felt bad that they couldnt over ride the system. They didnt speak English so well so the translator Mohamed, who clearly had a lovely soul conveyed the message that they hoped we would go to embassy to sort it all out and come back,
