Michelle Shocked Anti-Gay Stage Rant Leads To Tour Cancellations
Michelle Shocked, the alt-folk singer-songwriter, made her career in the 1990s playing to progressive crowds and many of her fans were homosexual. Shocked’s stunning onstage rant against homosexuals in San Francisco brought the singer back into the spotlight but her tirade has led to many of her shows being cancelled.
As previously reported by IBTimes, Shocked went on an anti-gay onstage tirade during a performance at Yoshi’s in San Francisco on Sunday. One of the most shocking quotes involves her opinion that gay marriage would lead to downfall of civilization saying, “When they stop Prop 8 and force priests at gunpoint to marry gays, it will be the downfall of civilization, and Jesus will come back.”
While no video has surfaced of Shocked’s rant, which occurred during her second set at Yoshi’s, the backlash from the anti-gay remarks were almost immediate as many venues cancelled her performances.
Shocked was scheduled to perform at SPACE, in Evanston, Illinois, on May 5, but the venue announced the show’s cancellation on Facebook. In the post, SPACE said, “Many of you have reached out already following an ugly rant given by Michelle Shocked at her show in San Francisco last night. After speaking with the promoter of that show about the nature of the remarks, it's clear that this is no longer a show we're willing to put our name on. The May 5 performance at SPACE has been cancelled and refunds will be issued at point of purchase.”
Shocked’s tour consisted of 11 tour dates and, so far, nine venues have cancelled her performances. The March 23 performance at McCabe’s in Santa Monica has been cancelled, as has her March 28 performance at Moe’s Alley in Santa Cruz. Palms Playhouse, in Winters, Calif., cancelled her April 24 performance as has the Alberta Rose Theater, in Portland, Ore., which cancelled Shocked’s April 25 performance.
Only two venues, Oasis, in San Diego and Harmony Bar, in Madison, Wis., have yet to announce if they have cancelled Shocked’s upcoming performances, April 6 and May 4, respectively. Shocked has yet to comment on Facebook or Twitter following her anti-gay rant at Yoshi’s.
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