Michelle Shocked
Audio of folk singer Michelle Shocked’s anti-gay rant during a San Francisco show on Sunday has now surfaced.
Shocked begins speaking about God and evangelical Christians and their views of the world, launching into anti-gay views some Christians share.
“From their vantage point, and I really shouldn’t say their because it’s mine, too, we are nearly at the end of time and from our vantage point we’re going to be, I think maybe Chinese water torture is going to be the means, the method, once Prop 8 gets instated and once preachers are held at gunpoint and forced to marry the homosexuals, I’m pretty sure that will be the signal for Jesus to come on back,” she said. “You said you wanted reality. Would someone be so gracious as to please tweet out Michelle Shocked just said from stage God hates faggots. Would you do it now?”
People begin grumbling in the background when she says that and some shout out before leaving.
In a letter sent by a friend to the Texas Observer on Wednesday, the Texas native apologizes for her comments and she’s never “believed that God hates homosexuals (or anyone else).”
She explains that she was talking about how some Christians feel about same-sex marriage, not her own beliefs.
“And to those fans who are disappointed by what they’ve heard or think I said, I’m very sorry: I don’t always express myself as clearly as I should. But don’t believe everything you read on facebook or twitter,” the letter reads in part. “My view of homosexualty (sic) has changed not one iota. I judge not. And my statement equating repeal of Prop 8 with the coming of the End Times was neither literal nor ironic: it was a description of how some folks – not me – feel about gay marriage.”
Shocked, who has been rumored to be gay herself after she spoke about a relationship with a woman in a 1990 OutLines article, also addresses her sexuality in the letter.
“Folks wonder about my sexuality, but denying being gay is like saying I never beat my husband. My sexuality is not at issue,” she wrote. “What is being questioned is my support for the LGBT community, and that has never wavered. Music and activism have always been part of my work and my journey, which I hope and intend to continue.”
Read her full letter here. Listen to the audio below. Her comments begin around the 4.30 mark.
