Pop superstar Bruno Mars has launched a cheeky Twitter protest over Indonesia’s most populous province slapping restrictions on some of his biggest hits–and poked fun at fellow music megastar Ed Sheeran in the process.
The West Java broadcasting commission ruled this month that some 17 foreign songs could only be played on the airwaves between 10:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m., citing morality concerns.
Restricted titles include Grammy award winner Mars’ “That’s what I like” and “Versace on the Floor”, Ed Sheeran’s megahit “Shape of You” and Ariana Grande’s “Love Me Harder.”
“WTF! I was poppin in Indonesia! Then here comes @edsheeran with his sick, perverted lyrics, gettin us all pinched! Thanks Ed. Thanks a lot,” the funk revivalist said to his 42 million Twitter followers this week.
Separately, Indonesia is drafting a national law that seeks to ban blasphemous and “pornographic” music content, sparking concerns about freedom of expression in the world’s biggest Muslim majority nation.
Responding to the American singer’s tweet, broadcast commission chief Dedeh Fardiah said Mars “maybe didn’t understand the context” of the new rules.
The commission, she said, responded to complaints from local residents in West Java, which has some 48 million people and is one of Indonesia’s most conservative provinces.
Foreign artists have occasionally found themselves in the cross-hairs of religious conservatives or fallen afoul of Indonesia’s censors. Last year, a TV ad featuring members of K-pop supergroup Blackpink dressed in miniskirts was banned because the national Broadcasting Commission deemed it indecent.