Boy Scouts Have No One Famous to Play at Their Jamboree Because They Kick Out Gay Kids – Mother Jones Skip to main content Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email Print Comments Donate Donate Subscribe Coronavirus Electric Cars Pakistan Free Covid Tests Newsletters Politics Environment Crime and Justice Food Media Investigations Photos Magazine Coronavirus Electric Cars Pakistan Free Covid Tests Subscribe to our magazine Donate Smart, Fearless Journalism Politics Environment Crime and Justice Food Media Investigations Photos Magazine Newsletters Politics March 5, 2013 Boy Scouts Have No One Famous to Play at Their Jamboree Because They Kick Out Gay Kids Dana Liebelson Bio | Follow Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email Print Comments The only musicians headlining the Boy Scouts’ annual Jamboree, “proof that rock music is dead” band Train and “Call Me Maybe” singer Carly Rae Jepsen, announced this week that they refuse to play the event, which is expected to have up to 40,000 attendees, as long as the organization continues to discriminate against gay Scouts and scoutmasters. Train wrote on Friday that it will not perform unless the Boy Scouts “make the right decision” and overturn the ban before the Jamboree. Jepsen appears to have dropped out entirely today, according to her Twitter account. The announcements come after a Change.org petition asking the artists to step down garnered 62,000 signatures in four days. So who is going to serenade the Scouts while they partake in community service, Buckskin games, pioneering, technology quests, 3-D archery, and shotgun shooting? “I was trying to think of artists that are anti-gay that the Boy Scouts could get, and I couldn’t think of any,” Rich Ferraro, a spokesman for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) tells Mother Jones. “Perhaps they can ask Chuck Norris or Victoria Jackson.” Ferraro adds that this is the first year he’s aware of that the Boy Scouts have been without any entertainment because of the ban. Deron Smith, director of public relations for the Boy Scouts of America, told Mother Jones that the group remains “focused on delivering a great Jamboree program for our Scouts,” but did not comment on who would be replacing Train and Jepsen. The Boy Scouts announced in January that they would consider overturning its decades-old anti-gay policy, but they are putting off any decision until May (even if the Scouts do overturn the policy, however, troops on the local level will still be allowed to discriminate). Pressure to overturn the ban has been intensifying over the last few months, with funders dropping out, Scouts renouncing their membership, and even President Obama denouncing the policy. “No fair-minded media outlet, corporation or celebrity will want to partner with the BSA as long as the organization puts discrimination and anti-gay bias before the needs of young people,” GLAAD said in a statement. BSA’s Smith says the Scouts “appreciate everyone’s right to express an opinion” and “don’t have anything to add at this time.” Image Source: GLAAD Looking for news you can trust? Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox. Close Thank you for subscribing! Email By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from Mother Jones and our partners. Fact: Mother Jones was founded as a nonprofit in 1976 because we knew corporations and billionaires wouldn't fund the type of hard-hitting journalism we set out to do. Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2022 demands. Donate Fact: Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2022 demands. Donate More about: LGBTQ Issues Related Timeline: The Boy Scouts’ Long History of Anti-Gay Discrimination Dana Liebelson Boy Scouts May Allow Gay Members…Sort Of Dana Liebelson Boy Scouts Threaten to Kick Out Pack For Supporting Gay Members Dana Liebelson Biden Asks Americans to Vote for Democracy—But Is Voting Enough? Madison Pauly We Recommend Hospitalized, Bullied, and Denied Care: Texas’ War on Trans Kids Samantha Michaels Alarm Bells as Satellites Reveal a Third of Pakistan Underwater Lizzy Davies Inside the Kafkaesque Process for Determining Who Gets Federal Disability Benefits Mark Betancourt Trump’s Social Media Business Is a Mess Russ Choma Latest Sydney “Sea of Roofs” Plan Will Wipe Out Critical Koala Habitat, Critics Say Lisa Cox Alaska Just Elected Its First Native Representative Emily Hofstaedter Trump Stole Secret Government Documents. The Big Question Is Why. David Corn A Chaotic Glimpse of the Classified Documents Recovered at Mar-a-Lago Inae Oh Sign up for our free newsletter Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox. Close Thank you for subscribing! Email By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from Mother Jones and our partners. Get our award-winning magazine Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights. Subscribe Support our journalism Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation. Donate RHC membership for blog posts view comments Looking for news you can trust? Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox. Close Thank you for subscribing! Email By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from Mother Jones and our partners. About Our Staff Financials Jobs Events Contact Us Support Ways to Give Advertise With Us Licensing / Reprints Store Subscribe Magazine Subscriptions Give a Gift Subscription Email Newsletters Podcasts Customer Service This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Copyright © 2022 Mother Jones and the Foundation for National Progress. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Service Privacy Policy We Noticed You Have An Ad Blocker On. Can you pitch in a few bucks to help fund Mother Jones' investigative journalism? We're a nonprofit (so it's tax-deductible), and reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget. We noticed you have an ad blocker on. Can you pitch in a few bucks to help fund Mother Jones' investigative journalism? Donate Not Now close Don't let an algorithm decide what news you see. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters. Close Thank you for subscribing! Email