Lady Gaga cancels Chromatica album listening party following protests over George Floyd's death

Lady Gaga has canceled her Chromatica album listening party in the wake of protests over George Floyd's death after now-fired Minneapolis police officer Derek Michael Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck. On Friday, Chauvin was arrested and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter, and three other officers involved in the incident were fired on Tuesday. Protests are ongoing around the country.

"As much as I want to listen to Chromatica together as a global group of kindness punks right now, our kindness is needed for the world today," Gaga wrote in a tweet on Friday. "I’m going to postpone our listening session right now and encourage you all to take this time to register to vote and raise your voice."

She then followed with another tweet. "I’m so glad the album is bringing you some joy, because that’s what I always wanted it to do," she says. "We’ll reschedule this very soon."

Earlier this week, videos emerged showing a Minneapolis police officer identified as Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck while he was in custody. In the video, Floyd, who was unarmed at the time of incident, repeatedly can be heard saying that he can't breathe and pleading with the officer to stop. Celebrities like John Boyega and many more have spoken out against the police-involved death of Floyd, and many stars, including Don Cheadle, Steve Carell, and Janelle Monáe, are taking action to provide aid and help bail out those who have been arrested during the public protests.

Earlier on Friday, Lady Gaga released her highly-anticipated sixth LP nearly seven years after the Oscar-winning pop star dropped her last electronic-pop album. Chromatica has 16 total tracks including singles "Stupid Love" and Ariana Grande-collaboration "Rain on Me," as well as Korean girl group Blackpink-collaboration "Sour Candy."

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• Chromatica is here: Listen to Lady Gaga's new album now