Interfaith Group Demands OC Nightclub Remove Hindu, Buddhist Statues From Foundation Room Nightclubs

BEVERLY HILLS (CBSLA) - A group of interfaith religious leaders is urging Live Nation Entertainment to remove and apologize for what they say are "sacred icons" of three faiths that are on display in upscale nightclubs in Orange County and across the country.

In a joint statement, the coalition led by Greek Orthodox Priest Stephen Karcher, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, Buddhist Priest Matthew T. Fisher, Jewish Rabbi Elizabeth Webb Beyer, and Jain leader Sulekh C. Jain said that placing the highly revered Hindu-Buddhist-Jain icons in Foundation Room nightclubs was " very disrespectful" and "prone to desecration by patrons".

Foundation Room nightclubs, part of the "House of Blues" network of Beverly Hills-based Live Nation Entertainment, are located in Anaheim, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, New Orleans.

The coalition also urged Live Nation Entertainment CEO Michael Rapino and Chairman Gregory Maffei to also offer a "formal apology to upset Hindu-Buddhist-Jain communities for this insensitivity".

Citing descriptions of Foundation Room clubs that include "haven for high-end hedonists looking for a wickedly good time" that can "suit any desire – no matter how wicked", the group said the statues were "meant to be worshiped in temples or home shrines and not to be thrown around loosely in a night-club for dramatic effects or mercantile/other agenda."

Foundation Room Anaheim has been closed since March due to the coronavirus pandemic. It wasn't clear whether any other locations around the U.S. had responded to the group.

Statues in Southern California and around the U.S. have been vandalized, defaced and removed in the wake of the nationwide George Floyd protests last month.