Los Angeles: Singer Selena Gomez was forced to cancel four shows in Russia after she was denied a visa to enter the country. Gomez was going to perform in Minsk, Belarus and Kiev, Ukraine this weekend and in St. Petersburg and Moscow next weekend. Russian authorities did not specify why the singer was refused a visa but it could have happened as some Russian authorities are aggressively enforcing laws banning gay rights propaganda.

Recently, Russian officials had threatened to prosecute singers Lady Gaga and Madonna for encouraging gay rights during their performances. Gay rights activist John Becker had launched a Change.org petition imploring Gomez to stand up for Russia's LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community. The singer was denied her visa soon after the petition, which had more than 13,000 signatures, went live.