John Mellencamp has once again had an issue with a heckler during one of his performances. During his show in Toledo on Sunday, an audience member interrupted the singer while he was sharing an anecdote. According to footage shared on TikTok, the interrupter urged Mellencamp to “play some music”. The 72-year-old replied angrily, stating: “What do you think I’ve been doing, you cocksucker? Here’s the thing, man. You don’t know me. You don’t fucking know me.” Mellencamp then asked for the audience member to be found and brought to him to meet him after the show.
Mellencamp has had similar experiences recently, which caused him to end a show early in Texas last March, and again in Cleveland two months later. His comments to the heckler in Toledo caused him to cut the set short. He told the audience that he could “stop this show right now and just go home”, before deciding to instead cut ten songs from the show. When he started to play the ‘Jack & Diane’ solo, he then announced that the show was over.
Reports reveal that the house lights then went up, and Mellencamp left the stage before he eventually returned and performed a few more songs to end the night. The singer-songwriter has previously been famous for being a divisive figure, and after his last outburst, he made headlines for his comments on the use of the N-word in rap music.
During an interview, Mellencamp explained his thoughts on the subject, saying: “Me and Chuck D did a song 20 years ago. We were talking about the N-word. We were talking about how it’s not supposed to be used… that’s what I have against – not against, but why I’m not a big fan of rap music.” He went on to say that young rappers are making money “selling it to white kids” which he doesn’t like. Mellencamp’s comments were quickly criticised online for being both short-sighted and ignorant
Read the full article on NME here: Read More