Sri Lankan President Says Promoters Of Enrique Iglesias Gig Should Be 'Whipped'

Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena has called for the promoters of pop singer Enrique Iglesias' gig to be "whipped" after a number of female fans threw their underwear at Iglesias during his gig at Colombo last week.

According to BBC, Sirisena called the behaviour of the fans at the concert on 20 December as "most uncivilised" and said the organisers "should be whipped with toxic stingray tails" in reference to an ancient punishment.

"This is most uncivilised behaviour that goes against our culture," Sirisena said in a public meeting.

"I don't advocate that these uncivilised women who removed their brassieres should be beaten with toxic stingray tails, but those who organised such an event should be."

Shortly after Sirisena's comments, gig promoters Live Events released their own statement, however they did not address fan behaviour, but rather show delays and security issues. 

As NME reports the statement read, "Whilst we have received many messages of appreciation for the performance of Enrique Iglesias, who provided over 90 minutes of spectacular entertainment, we are also aware and saddened by the fact that many people were terribly inconvenienced by some significant shortcomings that negatively impacted their overall concert experience.

"In particular, words cannot express how deeply sorry we are for the long delays to enter the venue after which to wait for an event scheduled to start at 8pm. Unfortunately, events beyond our control forced us to delay the early opening of the gates.

"We are also aware that when Enrique did start playing there was a major security failure with people without valid tickets entering the VIP and Platinum areas. This is a grave concern for us and we again apologise for the inconvenience caused. 

"We are currently evaluating the most appropriate course of corrective action."

Iglesias is yet to comment on the matter. 

Check out fan-shot footage from the performance below.