Lithuanian artist Marijus Adomaitis (a.k.a. Ten Walls) refuses to go away. Today he issued another apology for the homophobic comments he made on Facebook in June. His awful remarks caused festival promoters such as Creamfields to cancel his appearances en masse, essentially ending his blossoming DJ/production career fueled by his smash single “Walking With Elephants.”
On the deleted post Adomaitis wrote, “I remember producing music for one Lithuanian musician, who tried to wash my brain that I don’t need to be so conservative and intolerant about them. When I asked him ‘what would you do if you realized that your 16-year-old son’s browny is ripped by his boyfriend?’ Well he was silent.”
In an e-mail to DJ magazine, Adomaitis says he is “ashamed” of his comments and has taken the last few months to reflect on his behavior. He wrote, “This is not an excuse, but I would like you to know that the content of my post is not a true reflection of my feelings.”
Here’s his statement in its unedited entirety:
I’m Marijus Adomaitis aka Ten Walls. Earlier this year I posted comments on my Facebook page, that I deeply regret. My post was linked to homophobia and was very offensive. I am ashamed to have hurt so many people: my family, my country, my colleagues, my friends, the Global LGBT community and many others. Since then I have taken time out to reflect on what I did and work out a way of apologizing that expresses how sorry I am.
I am saddened by my own behavior and the impact of my actions on others. I offended a lot of people, was the cause of horrible debates, wrecked both my own and the confidence of others and ruined the plans for many people I was working with. Understandably, I was labeled homophobic and I am not and never have considered myself to be this way. I have to tell you that my action was completely out of character and done at a particularly angry and stressful time in my life. This is not an excuse, but I would like you to know that the content of my post is not a true reflection of my feelings. For many years I have been happily working and collaborating with people from different cultures, religious and sexual attitudes. I have always respected everyone.
My post made no sense, even to me. I’m a musician. My music is for everyone in this world. I always try to unite people to promote respect, equality and tolerance, love and peace. It is my priority as a music maker, in music there is no space for discrimination. It is my intention to do something in my home country of Lithuania, to support LGBT groups and educate others on acceptance and tolerance. I am now part of a group of people who have created an electronic opera ‘Carmen’ with a strong message of this. I hope my involvement in this project will be the first step to educating others in my home country that homophobia is simply not acceptable and that everyone should be free to live the life they choose.
I am sorry for what I have done. I am sorry I let myself down. I hope you can forgive me and that one day through my actions and future behaviour, I will once again be accepted for my music.
