The singer-songwriter John Mellencamp stormed offstage during a recent concert in Toledo, Ohio after a heckler told him to “just play some music!”
Mellencamp Storms Offstage
Penn Live reported that Mellencamp, who has long been known for his radically liberal views, was trying to tell a story about his grandmother when someone in the crowd screamed “just play some music!”
This didn’t sit well with Mellencamp, 72, and video of what happened next has since gone viral.
“What do you think I’ve been doing you (expletive),” Mellencamp fired back at the heckler before waving his finger in the air and exclaiming, “Here’s the thing man, you don’t know me. You don’t (expletive) know me.”
Not stopping there, Mellencamp told the other concert attendees to “find this guy and let me see him after the show.”
When another fan tried to shout something unintelligible, a visibly fuming Mellencamp said, “guys I can stop this show right now and go home.”
The crowd responded by screaming no and expressing their love for Mellencamp, but he was still not having any of it.
“Tell you what I’m going to do, since you have been so wonderful, I’m going to cut about 10 songs out of the show,” he said.
Mellencamp started to sing his hit song “Jack and Diane,” but he only got through a few seconds of it before he stopped.
“You know what? Show’s over,” he stated as he took off his guitar and stormed offstage.
Related: John Mellencamp Slammed After He’s Caught Sitting During National Anthem Before NFL Game
Mellencamp Stands By His Tantrum
Mellencamp reportedly returned to the stage about five minutes later to perform a few more songs for the crowd, but he made it clear afterwards that he has no regrets about how he handled the situation.
“It just hits me sideways,” Mellencamp told The Washington Post, going on to explain that he wants there to be a sense of decorum at his shows.
“I do expect etiquette inside of the theater, the same way you would at a Broadway show,” he explained. “My shows are not really concerts anymore. They’re performances, and there’s a difference between a performance and a concert.”
“Look, I’m not for everyone anymore. I’m just not,” he added. “And if you want to come and scream and yell and get drunk, don’t come to my show.”
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Mellencamp Focused On ‘Social And Political Commentary’
With his most recent album “Orpheus Descending,” which came out last year, Mellencamp said he was diving into more “social and political commentary and moments of evident heartache,” according to Syracuse.com. This is why Mellencamp has made storytelling a bigger part of his concerts, and he’s been known to tell stories about his grandmother in the past while also mixing social critiques and videos into his shows.
Given the fact that Mellencamp has been known to lecture his fans about his liberal politics in the past, however, perhaps the heckler at the Toledo concert was worried that he was in for yet another radically leftwing lecture when he really just wanted to enjoy a night of music.
This just goes to show that regardless of politics, Americans are tired of being lectured by elitist celebrities who oftentimes have no clue what they’re talking about. Perhaps Mellencamp should consider listening to his fans and just sticking to music from now on.
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