Controversial Canadian psychologist, author and media commentator Jordan Peterson has canceled his Jan. 27 speaking engagement at St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center. Ticket prices started at $61.15, with VIP packages prices offered as high as $609.
Five other dates on the 45-city arena tour — which was announced in October as the “We Who Wrestle With God Tour” but has since been renamed “An Evening to Transform Your Life” in most cities — are also listed as canceled on Ticketmaster’s website, including three stops in California (Palm Springs, Fresno and Anaheim) as well as Hershey, Pa., and Tampa. His Jan. 26 show at the DECC Symphony Hall in Duluth is still on sale via Ticketmaster, but is no longer listed on Peterson’s website.
An Xcel Energy Center spokesman released this statement: “Refunds will be processed to the original method of payment used at time of purchase, as soon as funds are received from the event organizer. It should appear on their account within 14-21 days.” He did not respond to further questions. Peterson’s publicist did not respond to an email seeking further comment.
Before it was replaced with the cancellation notice, Ticketmaster’s sale page for his Xcel appearance appeared to show a few hundred tickets had been sold, with the entire 200 level blocked from sale.
Peterson has toured smaller venues in the past and sold out two nights at Minneapolis’ State Theatre in February 2023.
Peterson, 62, is touring to promote his latest book “We Who Wrestle with God.” According to the publisher, Peterson “guides us through the ancient, foundational stories of the Western world … (and) analyzes the Biblical accounts of rebellion, sacrifice, suffering and triumph that stabilize, inspire and unite us culturally and psychologically.”
A self-described “classic British liberal and traditionalist,” Peterson formerly taught psychology at Harvard University and the University of Toronto. He began to attract attention beyond academia in 2016 when he released a series of YouTube videos that attacked a proposed bill by the Canadian parliament that banned discrimination against people on the basis of “gender identity” or “gender expression.”
In the time since, Peterson has become a prolific social media user across several platforms. Political correctness and “woke” culture, climate change denial and the “crisis of masculinity” are among the topics he’s known to discuss. He’s got 8.54 million subscribers on YouTube and 5.9 million followers on X, formerly Twitter.
Last year, Peterson co-founded Peterson Academy, an online higher education platform. According to his publicist, more than 30,000 students have enrolled since the beta launched in September 2024 with an annual tuition fee of $499.99.
Over the weekend, Peterson visited president-elect Donald Trump’s Florida home Mar-a-Lago with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Canadian celebrity investor Kevin O’Leary.
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