Gospel singer Julie Birungi has expressed disappointment after fellow artists failed to show up for her Mother’s Day concert in Toronto, an absence she believes was driven by discrimination linked to her personal life.
Speaking after the show, titled An Evening with Julie, Birungi said she was left hurt after an entire lineup of invited guest artists did not appear on the day of the event, leaving her to perform alongside her children, Ezekiel and Esther.
“You might be wondering why these artists are not here today, because I’m different in the way they feel I’m different. These are the people I called my friends. We used to laugh, cry together, make jokes, and be there for each other. But then I was wrong,” she said.
“I have never needed them, but at the back of my mind, I knew I had friends to run to when I needed them. I guess I was wrong.”
Birungi revealed that some of the artists initially gave excuses for not attending but later stopped responding. She believes the withdrawal was not coincidental, but rather linked to how they perceive her.
“You want to love me behind the scenes. I have failed to understand. You are supposed to show us love, spread love, but you are discriminating against people like me,” she said.
“Where are we supposed to go? You are being a hypocrite. You want to be with me in private, but do not want people to see you with me. It is not good.”
She added that the artists had earlier confirmed attendance but pulled out at the last minute, which she believes was due to discomfort surrounding her sexuality.
“Why haven’t these artistes not shown up? Because i am different,” she said.
According to Birungi, the preparations for the show began last year, and she personally reached out to all the artists she had hoped would be part of the event, including Judith Babirye, Vivian Tendo, Jackie Ssenyonjo, and Mr Samuel, among others.
Julie Birungi, formerly known as Julie Mutesasira, is a former pastor’s wife who relocated to Canada, where she later came out and remarried.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DwyG6l7xiU
Don’t want to miss out on any story? For updates on all Sqoop stories, follow this link on Telegram: https://t.me/Sqoop and Whatsapp: https://whatsapp.com/channel