Joss Stone was deported from
Iran this week, the British soul singer said on Instagram, thwarting her attempt to perform in every country on earth.
Stone said she was detained for a night and deported the following morning in the Middle Eastern country, the final nation on her "Total World Tour."
"Our very last country on the list was Iran," Stone wrote on Instagram on Wednesday, alongside a short video. "We were aware there couldn't be a public concert as I am a woman and that is illegal in this country. Personally I don't 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," she added.
So , our very last country on the list was Iran .
We were aware there couldn’t be a public concert as I am a woman and that is illegal in this country. Personally I don’t 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 authority’s don’t believe we wouldn’t 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 wasn’t 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. Doesn’t 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. It’s 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 couldn’t over ride the system. They didn’t 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, they were refusing us entry with a heavy heart and were so sorry. After Mo had left, the officers kept telling us sorry. They said sorry all the way through this process and kept saying this till we got on the plane they were sending us away on. We were the ones that should have been apologising for not having our correct paper work. The ball"However, it seems the authority's [sic] don't believe we wouldn't 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," Stone went on. "Of course I was gutted. So close yet so far, this moment broke a little piece of my heart."
Stone began her mammoth tour in Morocco in March 2014. Since then she has visited 199 countries, including North Korea, according to her social media accounts. Her last three shows were in Saudi Arabia, Libya and Yemen.
It is unclear exactly what Stone planned to do in Iran. She said that she had explained her "mission" to the immigration officials: to "bring good feeling with what I have to give and show those who want to look, the positives of our globe."
The singer continued: "I still have to walk forward towards that goal some way some how. And of course music is my driver. Doesn't mean we have to brake (sic) any laws though. There is music everywhere. Even here, we just have to play by there (sic) rules and they have to believe we will."
In her Wednesday post, Stone praised "the most friendly charming and welcoming immigration people" in Iran, who she said were apologetic about the decision to deport her and her entourage.
"We were the ones that should have been apologising for not having our correct paper work," she added.