Russell Brand has canceled part of his world tour because of fears for his safety during a set of gigs in the Middle East. Brand announced the tour, called “The Messiah Complex,” earlier this month and spoke of plans to perform at “prisons, drug rehabs, social network HQs, universities, nationalist organisations, mosques, foreclosed houses, protest sites, synagogues and in people’s private homes.” Brand had been booked to perform in Abu Dhabi and Lebanon, but those dates are now canceled. “Those gigs have been banned, pulled because of threats from extremists that if I went there there would be problems,” Brand told BBC Radio 5Live. He added, “The venue contacted us and said we can no longer guarantee your safety.” Brand’s tour is still set to hit North America, South Africa, and Europe.
