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“Now, again, I think that because of these new laws that my decision might be illegal and maybe it’s even a decision of hate. I’m not doing it,” he said, calling the use of gender-neutral pronouns “politically motivated.”

Peterson is scheduled to speak Friday at the Arts Commons’ Jack Singer Concert Hall, but an online petition calling for the performance to be cancelled has received hundreds of signatures.

An open letter addressed to the Arts Commons board of directors calls Peterson’s comments “toxic and often violent” and says his “ideas are misogynistic, homophobic, transphobic and racist.”

“We are deeply disappointed that Arts Commons has made the unconscionable decision to support Peterson’s values by virtue of hosting this talk, as many of the arts organizations and artists working within your venue would readily balk at being associated with such ideas,” the letter states.

“As Arts Commons continually hosts a broad and diverse intersection of audiences and artists, we ask you to consider the impact of your decision to present this talk.”

But Arts Commons says it will not cancel the talk.

In a statement, Arts Commons said it supports free speech and “is a place for all.”

“Freedom of speech means not censoring someone because we don’t agree with what they have to say,” Johann Zietsman, Arts Commons CEO, said in a statement. “We value diversity and if you look at our list of events, you will see that we have events from all corners of our society represented.”