Oasis superfan sells concert ticket after Liam Gallagher's 'unacceptable' tweet
An Oasis superfan was left "completely heartbroken" and opted to flog her ticket to the band's kick-off gig following frontman Liam Gallagher's controversial, now-deleted social media post containing an offensive phrase.
The 52-year-old Mancunian rocker became the target of backlash after dropping a racial slur on X. The offending tweet, which ridiculed languages spoken by people from East Asia or those of East Asian heritage, prompted immediate reactions online, with one supporter admonishing him: "Liam, you can't say that".
Following the uproar, Liam swiftly pulled down the post and put up an apology. His tweet read: "Sorry if I offended anyone with my tweet before it wasn't intentional you know I love you all and I do not discriminate. Peace and love LG x".
Nevertheless, some admirers find themselves disenchanted by the incident. For Yue Xiong, originally from Shanghai and now living London, Oasis's tunes have been a lifeline since her teens, declaring the songs "saved [her] life".
Yet she felt Liam's comment was "completely not acceptable". Consequently, the Goldsmiths scholar decided to sell her Live '25 tour launch night pass for Cardiff, slated for July 4. The 23-year-old student also decided to head to Cardiff on Thursday to stage a demonstration.
"I've been I've been a huge fan since 2017," she told Wales Online. "All of my adolescence I was just listening to Oasis – it got me through life and the music really saved my life.
"But I kind of stopped being a fan two days ago because what Liam said is completely not acceptable. As an Asian and as a Chinese person I could not deal with it just by keeping silent and accepting what he was saying."
(Image: GETTY)
She continued: "I just can't participate in that anymore. Otherwise it will be disrespectful for my own community where I come from."
Yue also expressed her disappointment at the silence over Liam's remarks, saying: "I felt people would need to speak up about it. So if no-one talks about it it just adds more pressure to everything. But I felt the need to say something. It is not okay for someone to say something extremely racial, targeting an Asian community, on a social platform."
Yue added that she had sold her ticket on Wednesday, following the incident, as a "gesture" – two days before she was due to attend the Cardiff gig. Though saddened by parting with her ticket, she admitted she would have been "completely heartbroken" if she went to the show.
As a dedicated fan who had met Noel Gallagher several times, Yue apologised to the musician for missing the Cardiff concert, clarifying her respect for him and his work remains. Despite Liam's apology, Yue felt it fell short of addressing the issue properly.
"It was not sincere," she said. "It was not really an apology. I see it more as a PR strategy but it's not even enough for a PR move because what he said was extremely controversial and when people pointed it out he said: 'Whatever'.
"He didn't see it as a problem. He then deleted that tweet. So he definitely feels it is not appropriate for him to say anything like that."
Despite deciding against attending the concert, Yue made her way to Cardiff the day before the show to stage a protest. Explaining her motivation for the protest, she said: "The C-word is not acceptable in any circumstances.
"If Liam said the N-word or anything against transgender people the media would stand up for that community. But it seems like it's okay for people to treat and make fun of the Asian community like that.
"[The protest] is not coming out as an attack to Oasis but it's about defending our own right – it's about speaking up for our own community. It's about making the world right again. My partner, he's white, his friends and people in the industry found it not acceptable. But they were just really surprised as nobody said anything about it.
"I've been talking to loads in the Chinese community fan groups. They're completely shattered, they're completely heartbroken."
Oasis are set to rock Cardiff's Principality Stadium with gigs scheduled for Friday, July 4, and Saturday, July 5, as fans descend on the Welsh capital for the much-anticipated event.
A representative for Oasis has been contacted for comment.
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