Ted Nugent, NRA Board Member, Calls Parkland Shooting Survivors Liars, Says ‘They Have No Soul’

Ted Nugent is in some hot water after the controversial rocker took aim at survivors of the Parkland school shooting, calling the young activists liars and saying “they have no soul.”

As SFGate.com noted, the remarks have now turned up the heat on the National Rifle Association, which has given Nugent a position on its board of directors. In an interview on Friday, Nugent said the students-turned-activists are “pathetic” and “liars.” The group of students from Stoneman Douglas High School have become the de-facto face of the gun reform movement, leading demonstrations including last week’s March for Our Lives that drew more than 1 million people across the world.

“These poor children, I’m afraid to say this and it hurts me to say this, but the evidence is irrefutable, they have no soul,” Nugent said Friday in an appearance on The Joe Pags Show (via SFGate.com).

“The dumbing down of America is manifested in the culture deprivation of our academia that have taught these kids the lies, media that have prodded and encouraged and provided these kids lies,” Nugent added.

The remarks drew an immediate backlash online, with many taking aim directly at the NRA. As a member of the gun lobbying organization’s board, Nugent holds a leadership position and his words reflect back on the NRA, many pointed out.

Some called directly on the NRA to refute the comments, though the organization has yet to comment on Ted Nugent’s remarks.

Longtime @NRA Board member Ted Nugent just said this about Parkland gun violence survivors: "These poor children, I’m afraid to say this and it hurts me to say this, but the evidence is irrefutable, they have no soul."

Waiting for you to contradict him.https://t.co/cN1P5RChou

— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) March 31, 2018

Ted Nugent’s slam that the Parkland survivors-turned-activists have “no soul” come amid a larger attack on the student leaders of the gun reform movement. Many conservative commentators have criticized them, and there have even been fabricated conspiracy theories that they are “crisis actors” being paid to push for gun reform. There have been some outright lies as well, including a photoshopped picture of activist Emma Gonzalez ripping up a copy of the U.S. Constitution.

This week, conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham took to Twitter to mock student activist David Hogg after he shared that he received rejection letters from colleges. The reaction was swift, with Hogg calling on followers to contact her advertisers and a stream of companies severing ties with Ingraham. She later issued an apology, but Hogg said he would not accept until she spoke out against others at Fox News who are criticizing the students.

Ted Nugent has not issued an apology for his comments calling the Parkland school shooting survivors “liars”
and saying they have “no soul.”