14 DAY TRIAL // Alt-folk singer Michelle Shocked is on the receiving end of a lot of criticism today after going on a bitter anti-gay rant at her latest concert in a San Francisco club. The rant led to a massive walk-out, and promoters have already started canceling other of her appearances.
Shocked describes herself as “your average anarchist skateboard punk rock born again Christian” and she’s no stranger to gay rumors herself, as the video report below also indicates.
She never came out in support of gay marriage but that did not make her recent outburst any less shocking, MSNBC reports.
One fan in the audience explains for the e-zine that Shocked went in full hate mode, spewing homophobic slurs and even encouraging those in the venue to go on Twitter and write about what she’d said.
“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,” Shocked said, as reviewer James Patterson of The Bay Area Reporter, who was in attendance, tells MSNBC.
“I believe the Bible is the word of God,” the singer continued, before adding that her own fans should “go on Twitter and say that Michelle Shocked said ‘Gods hates fags’.”
According to various online reports, the outburst occurred during the second set of the night and prompted a massive walk-out.
As she performed the first set, she offered no indication of what she was about to do and say.
The same reports note that organizers almost immediately shut Shocked down by cutting off her microphone and the lights, even though she continued to sing for the few fans who were still in the club after the walk-out.
“Since her rant, multiple venues have canceled planned shows by Shocked. Music magazine Billboard confirmed on Tuesday that 10 out of 11 of her upcoming shows have since been canceled by venues that had been set to host the musician,” MSNBC reports.
