--- description: Eighteen months ago, soprano Tamar Iveri's Facebook account included some choice words regarding an anti-homophobia rally in Tbilisi title: Opera Singer Fired After Homophobic Slurs Posted to Facebook Page image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt08bf2ead8e0ed6b5/698698c235ba6f2561c02b6a/rtxcbhm.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Opera Singer Fired After Homophobic Slurs Posted to Facebook Page by [Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 23, 2014 9:58 AM CUT  Singer Tamar Iveri performs on stage as Tatjana during a dress rehearsal of Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky's opera Eugene Onegin at Vienna's State Opera March 3, 2009. Singer Tamar Iveri performs on stage as Tatjana during a dress rehearsal of Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky's opera Eugene Onegin at Vienna's State Opera March 3, 2009.Herwig Prammer—Reuters by [Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 23, 2014 9:58 AM CUT A seasoned opera singer from Georgia — the country, not the state — has been [dropped](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/23/soprano-tamar-iveri-dropped-opera-australia-anti-gay "undefined") from a major Australian opera company’s upcoming production of _Otello_ in response to homophobic posts that appeared on her Facebook page. Eighteen months ago, soprano Tamar Iveri’s account included some choice words regarding an anti-homophobia rally in Tbilisi, the capital of her homeland. These included comparisons between homosexuals and “fecal masses” and praise to compatriots who spat at the parade. Long story short: a lot of people were upset, and some were upset enough to start [an online petition](http://www.change.org/petitions/opera-australia-revoke-tamar-iveri-s-passport-and-visa-to-work-in-australia-immediately-and-irrevocably-hate-has-no-place-in-the-entertainment-industry-or-indeed-anywhere-in-the-world "undefined") encouraging the Australian government to kick her out of the country, and now Opera Australia has chosen to terminate her contract. She won’t be in next month’s production of _Otello_ in Sydney, and a Brussels-based opera company has also [excused her](http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/opera/opera-australia-sacks-soprano-tamar-iveri-over-gay-slurs-20140623-zsiol.html?utm%5Fsource=twitter&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fcampaign=nc&eid=socialn%3Atwi-13omn1677-edtrl-other%3Annn-17%2F02%2F2014-edtrs%5Fsocialshare-all-nnn-nnn-vars-o%26sa%3DD%26usg%3DALhdy28zsr6qiq "undefined") from its production of _A Masked Ball_ next year. Iveri, meanwhile, maintains her innocence, blaming her [“very religious” husband](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/opera-star-tamar-iveri-blames-husband-for-facebook-post-describing-gay-people-as-sewage-9554755.html "undefined") for hacking her Facebook and posting the comments himself. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2911198/opera-singer-fired-after-homophobic-slurs-posted-to-facebook-page/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2911198/opera-singer-fired-after-homophobic-slurs-posted-to-facebook-page/"},"headline":"Opera Singer Fired After Homophobic Slurs Posted to Facebook Page","datePublished":"2014-06-23T09:58:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:33:47.901Z","description":"She has placed the blame on her \"very religious\" husband","url":"https://time.com/2911198/opera-singer-fired-after-homophobic-slurs-posted-to-facebook-page/","keywords":["Australia","georgia","Theater","Opera"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt08bf2ead8e0ed6b5/698698c235ba6f2561c02b6a/rtxcbhm.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nash Jenkins","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/p-nash-jenkins/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt08bf2ead8e0ed6b5/698698c235ba6f2561c02b6a/rtxcbhm.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Singer performs during dress rehearsal of Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky's opera Eugene Onegin at Vienna's State Opera","caption":"Singer performs during dress rehearsal of Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky's opera Eugene Onegin at Vienna's State Opera","creditText":"Herwig Prammer—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2911198/opera-singer-fired-after-homophobic-slurs-posted-to-facebook-page/","name":"Opera Singer Fired After Homophobic Slurs Posted to Facebook Page"}}]}] ```