Slog
News & ArtsWednesday, March 20, 2013
LGBTQITSLFA Here's the Full, Uncomfortable Audio of Michelle Shocked's Anti-Gay Rant
Posted by Paul Constant on Wed, Mar 20, 2013 at 4:38 PM
You read about Michelle Shocked's anti-gay rant. Now you can listen to it, and the whole uncomfortable rest of her set, thanks to this recording that surfaced on Towleroad. The shit hits the folk singer starting at 4:37:
This evidence seems to run counter to Shocked's statement that she was "misinterpreted."
2
"This evidence seems to run counter to Shocked's statement that she was 'misinterpreted.'"
Why be namby-pamby?
The audio recording of the singer's own statements completely and embarrassingly refutes her belated attempted explanation.
See, that wasn't so hard.
Why be namby-pamby?
The audio recording of the singer's own statements completely and embarrassingly refutes her belated attempted explanation.
See, that wasn't so hard.
3
I've never heard of this person until these SLOG posts. Her wiki says she was born again maybe sometime in the mid 90's.
4
You left off the part where she said she wished all homosexuals were fucking dead.
That was the worst. eevaaaa....
That was the worst. eevaaaa....
6
We've managed to totally ignore her for a couple decades. Young people don't even know who she is. It's not like anyone cares about her and it's not like what she thinks makes any difference. Why give her all this attention? I have an uncle who hates gay people - do you want to blog about that too?
7
She was schedule to play Meanders Kitchen in West Seattle on 4/26. Meander's has posted the following message on their FB page:
Hurray for them!
As many of you know by now, Meander's Kitchen was scheduled to host Michelle Shocked on April 26th, and have cancelled that show. Instead, we have rescheduled a Queer Burlesque and Cabaret for that night as a benefit for local queer youth. By supporting our youth and helping to create a sense of place, community and self, we help to short circuit the cultural influences that so often leave us feeling alone, out of place, and living with self-hatred and denial. This is only one aspect of fighting bigotry, but it one that is key to it Getting Better, and one that fills me personally with hope.
I hope we'll see you April 26th. More details to come. *Smooches*
Hurray for them!
8
She sounds disjointed and confused. She sounds more mentally unstable, to me, than she does hateful. Which makes me more sad than angry.
9
She's clearly deranged. I love how audience members tried to engage her starting at 7:30. But it wasn't worth their effort - she sounds too far round the bend.
15
@ 14, her tour wasn't canceled. Rather, venues canceled their bookings of her. (That only matters because "they canceled her tour" sounds like either she or her managers took action to address her problem, when it was the venues who decided that they didn't need her or her homophobia.)
16
Yeah, she sounds mentally disturbed. The real mystery is why anyone would want to hear this kind of crap instead of SONGS; even if you're a devoted Christian, it's terribly disjointed rambling nonsense badly presented. But then, I heard the song at around 9:00 and I realized I didn't want to hear that either. What a mess.
I was most shocked to hear actual applause at the end. WTF?
I was most shocked to hear actual applause at the end. WTF?
17
Such a shame. I listened to her quite a bit when I was a teen. I even played some of her songs when I was in a band. I don't think I can ever listen to that music again. It's totally tainted. Thanks for killing my memories of driving cross country listening to Arkansas Traveler, Michelle. Ugh.
18
Deranged? Disturbed? Unstable?
I don't know, I just hear another standard-issue born-again dumbshit, which I suppose is a form of derangement.
I don't know, I just hear another standard-issue born-again dumbshit, which I suppose is a form of derangement.
20
This is clearly a case of "I regret saying the shit I said because I didn't realize being a bigot would have such a huge monetary effect on my life!"
Yeah...I had no clue who this woman was, pretty sure NOM March 4 Marriage rally needs musical guests as all but one has cancelled their appearance.
Yeah...I had no clue who this woman was, pretty sure NOM March 4 Marriage rally needs musical guests as all but one has cancelled their appearance.
21
I'm disappointed that none of the usual crew have arrived in the comments, trying to tell us we didn't hear what we just heard. ryry, where are you? oh, well....
now, for the deranged vs. bigoted argument, I see no distinction between the two. when I listen to Victoria Jackson or Ted Nugent or Tony Perkins or Bill Donohue, I'm listening to someone who is clearly deranged. insane in the membrane. loonie-tunes, belong in a hospital.
now, for the deranged vs. bigoted argument, I see no distinction between the two. when I listen to Victoria Jackson or Ted Nugent or Tony Perkins or Bill Donohue, I'm listening to someone who is clearly deranged. insane in the membrane. loonie-tunes, belong in a hospital.
24
http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2013/03/20/…
She's apologizing like crazy now. Thsi was her Michael Richards moment, and now that her career is dead, she's backpedaling just as hard as she can.
http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/after…
Seems she just now realizes what she's done, and she's trying to save face. Too bad for her, the whole thing's on tape.
She's apologizing like crazy now. Thsi was her Michael Richards moment, and now that her career is dead, she's backpedaling just as hard as she can.
http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/after…
Seems she just now realizes what she's done, and she's trying to save face. Too bad for her, the whole thing's on tape.
25
I occasionally still listen to Shocked whose music I like very much (sharp shocked and Arkansas traveler are spectacular albums). It is very disappointing as at some point she was the vibrant symbol of a woman who beat the odds (being raised a Mormon). I suspect it shouldn't be surprising that some (many) of us do not age gracefully or lose it with time, but very sad nonetheless.
26
the most surprising part for me is how many people are compelled to share that they don't know who she is.
28
@26
Max, it is growth. They didn't know of her, and now they do! At one time I had no idea who Ted Haggard was, and because of the amazing work of the Slog team, I now know who he is. Easily, my life has improved ten fold because of this growth.
Max, it is growth. They didn't know of her, and now they do! At one time I had no idea who Ted Haggard was, and because of the amazing work of the Slog team, I now know who he is. Easily, my life has improved ten fold because of this growth.
29
@19 That's John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." It's the first verse they make you memorize in Sunday school, and I still know it!
Well, then! She doesn't sound so crazy to me. She just sounds Christian, with a dash of unstable zealotry. She's crazy with Jesus, I guess you could say. She sounds like any other fundie I've met in my life, or that you could hear in the Christian radio stations.
What can I say? This is who she is now. You pay for a person and you get that person. If you're caught by surprise by who that person has become then it sucks for everybody. From here on out, though, just know: If you go to Michelle Shocked show, you're going to get a God-hates-fags fire-and-brimstone sermon. I just wished she'd come out with her, um, religious epiphany more publicly, so that we all were aware of what was coming.
So clubs are free to cancel her shows and potential audiences are free not to come. I don't blame them. I feel bad with the former fans who have to reconcile who the artist is with their connections to her art. I would hate if my favorite singer-songwriters ended up being racist or homophobic. I can't imagine how I would react until it actually happens with the artists I love.
And her one song, the first Michelle Shocked song I've ever heard? I'm not impressed. It indeed sounds like anything I've heard from any busker, as she alludes to. It doesn't spark my curiosity for her music. I wouldn't spend fifty cents on it, even if all this hadn't happened.
And finally, Michelle? This is the company you want to keep now? You want to trade in your fan base so you can hang out with Dobson and Perkins and Robertson? And Santorum? You want to play Santorum's birthday parties? Have fun, dude. Have fun. We'll see how long you can keep it up until you regret your choice.
More...
Well, then! She doesn't sound so crazy to me. She just sounds Christian, with a dash of unstable zealotry. She's crazy with Jesus, I guess you could say. She sounds like any other fundie I've met in my life, or that you could hear in the Christian radio stations.
What can I say? This is who she is now. You pay for a person and you get that person. If you're caught by surprise by who that person has become then it sucks for everybody. From here on out, though, just know: If you go to Michelle Shocked show, you're going to get a God-hates-fags fire-and-brimstone sermon. I just wished she'd come out with her, um, religious epiphany more publicly, so that we all were aware of what was coming.
So clubs are free to cancel her shows and potential audiences are free not to come. I don't blame them. I feel bad with the former fans who have to reconcile who the artist is with their connections to her art. I would hate if my favorite singer-songwriters ended up being racist or homophobic. I can't imagine how I would react until it actually happens with the artists I love.
And her one song, the first Michelle Shocked song I've ever heard? I'm not impressed. It indeed sounds like anything I've heard from any busker, as she alludes to. It doesn't spark my curiosity for her music. I wouldn't spend fifty cents on it, even if all this hadn't happened.
And finally, Michelle? This is the company you want to keep now? You want to trade in your fan base so you can hang out with Dobson and Perkins and Robertson? And Santorum? You want to play Santorum's birthday parties? Have fun, dude. Have fun. We'll see how long you can keep it up until you regret your choice.
30
If she apologized, fine, but if she wants it to be accepted, she needs to start meeting with LGBTQ rights groups and getting active supporting the community.
(An example, I hope, is the football player who got in trouble for his homophobic comments during Superbowl week; I don't know what he's doing, but it's been reported that he's following through on meeting with rights groups. And I think that Tim Hardaway, the former NBA player, made some huge advances after his homophobic remarks.)
(An example, I hope, is the football player who got in trouble for his homophobic comments during Superbowl week; I don't know what he's doing, but it's been reported that he's following through on meeting with rights groups. And I think that Tim Hardaway, the former NBA player, made some huge advances after his homophobic remarks.)
31
She wrote a great apology and that makes it confusing because she sounds sincere in both venues... But you know what? It wouldn't matter whether I meant them or not, at my work those same comments would get me canned, too.
32
@24 "Denying being gay is like saying I never beat my husband."
So, she beats her husband on the DL?
So, she beats her husband on the DL?
33
Why is there no video of this show yet at every show I attend there are dozens of idiots in front of me holding up their arms and recording non-stop?
Something about this clip reminded me of Jennifer Jason Leigh's Sadie character in the movie Georgia.
Something about this clip reminded me of Jennifer Jason Leigh's Sadie character in the movie Georgia.
34
@21 Ok, you win. I take back that thing I said earlier about how I would wait to pass judgement until I heard a recording and how she probably had a breakdown. I was completely misguided. You win at comments and now you will have your own column.
36
This is just sad.
I think sometimes mental illnesses such as schizophrenia need a story to apply themselves to, and religion offers that story.
Like sugar is for yeast, religious stories are for mental illness.
(and for the record, I always thought she was a dyke anyway; I had a "best of the 80's" tape with "Anchorage" on it when I was a kid.
I think sometimes mental illnesses such as schizophrenia need a story to apply themselves to, and religion offers that story.
Like sugar is for yeast, religious stories are for mental illness.
(and for the record, I always thought she was a dyke anyway; I had a "best of the 80's" tape with "Anchorage" on it when I was a kid.
37
Those scary spanish bible verses that were blindly parroted as evidence of her rage turned out to be John 3:16? Ain't that some shit.
39
I'm not sure what to make of this picture, which is on her website;
http://www.michelleshocked.com/images/th…
(for me, the crazy religious homophobic stuff doesn't make me less inclined to listen to Michelle Shocked - It just places her in the many artists whose lives have taken a turn for the tragic / crazy / unhealthy; Elvis, MJ, et al.
http://www.michelleshocked.com/images/th…
(for me, the crazy religious homophobic stuff doesn't make me less inclined to listen to Michelle Shocked - It just places her in the many artists whose lives have taken a turn for the tragic / crazy / unhealthy; Elvis, MJ, et al.
41
She was an icon to many lesbians back in the 90's from appearances at the Michigan's Women's Music Festival and other high-profile events. And her free-verse style was critically acclaimed as alternative folk's leading edge. She had enormous talent, and created a strong cult following with a tone of a martyred disenfranchised from the mainstream - a major part of her appeal. I'd say success eventually led her to become so self-indulgent she came to believe it was all about her instead of her audience. But that would assume she was attempting to follow the basic rules of commercial success, which she wasn't. Pitiful, especially at the end where she passes the hat for "the folk singer, for bus fare" as if she hadn't just pissed on the supporters who got her there in the first place. Another example of how power of success corrupts the soul.
42
@21:
now, for the deranged vs. bigoted argument, I see no distinction between the two. when I listen to Victoria Jackson or Ted Nugent or Tony Perkins or Bill Donohue, I'm listening to someone who is clearly deranged. insane in the membrane. loonie-tunes, belong in a hospital.Fuck you! Assholes like you continue to spread the mental illness = evil stigma. It is bigotry. Being an asshole and having a mental illness are independent. I don't know if you have a mental illness, but I sure as hell can tell that you are an asshole who enjoys spreading stigma and bigotry.
44
@36: This isn't mental illness. This is her being a Mormon and still fuming over Prop 8. Same with Orson Scott Card. She's not crazy, just nasty.
45
I find it pretty hilarious listening to the crowd laughing less and less, as they realize she's not being ironic.
46
This is horrible but well worth a listen. Her singing has a desperate sad edge to it as the club shuts her down. And she passes the hat at the end and plugs her songbook project like she has no idea what just happened. She's a horrible woman. I can only imagine that diehard fans were clapping for her because they didn't quite understand what she was saying earlier and they just wanted to hear Anchored Down in Anchorage. It's too bad that they didn't just walk out like most everybody else. You can stick a fork in her: she's done.
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