Controversial rocker Ted Nugent has a bit more free time this summer, as Idaho’s Coeur d’Alene Tribe has canceled his scheduled August 4 performance at their venue.
Nugent , noted draft dodger and National Rifle Association proponent, was dumped by the Coeur d’Alene Tribe this week, after the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)’s Hatewatch project got in touch with the venue to discuss some of the musician’s recent statements.
The particular comments in question made by Nugent date back to July 6, when the aging rocker — who has not been a friend to the President in the past — unleashed a vitriolic tirade and used several homophobic slurs referring to Barack Obama.
During a largely incoherent and difficult to parse set of remarks, Ted Nugent lashed out at the Commander in Chief and raged:
“The most important thing about tonight, the most important thing maybe in life, the most important thing certainly on planet earth, is that you are in the presence of the number one man that the president hates more than anybody in the whole world. That’s right. I piss that piece of **** off every day, and I don’t even try.”
He continued :
I scare that c***sucker, you know what I mean? He don’t like Uncle Ted because I celebrate freedom. That motherf***er don’t like freedom. He don’t like Texas. He don’t like liberty, that piece of ****. He hates Uncle Ted.”
Nugent concluded:
“I’m proud. I’m proud. I must be an angel; I must be a f***ing angel, because the devil don’t like my ass.”
When the SPLC contacted the tribe about the decision to book Nugent, tribal officials said that they’d look into the decision. In the interim, the group spoke with Christina Crawford, prior manager of entertainment and special events for the Coeur d’Alene tribe.
Crawford commented:
“Never ever would I have booked that kind of racist at the casino… I find this astonishing.”
She adds:
“The Coeur d’Alene Tribe has a long record of involvement in human rights issues and they understand clearly what harm prejudice can do. Maybe someone just booked him as a rock-and-roll act and paid no attention to his other issues… It’s so destructive for the tribe.”
Yesterday, the same day concerns about Ted Nugent’s hate speech (he’d previously called the President a “chimpanzee”) were raised, the Coeur d’Alene tribe canceled the concert and indicated that they were disinclined to promote racist language or performers.
[Image: Ted Nugent, Wikimedia]