Vince Gill and Westboro Baptist Church protesters have a contentious relationship, especially after the country singer confronted several of them at a recent concert in Kansas City, Missouri.
While the Westboro protesters likely hoped to preach their hate and teach Gill a lesson, the star had other plans.
Video of the incident, which took place outside the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, showed the protesters’ initial surprise as he approached them.
The Hollywood Reporter notes that one protester asked him , “Vince Gill, what in the world are you doing out here?” His response was probably something almost everyone thinks when they see Westboro. Gill told them, “I just came to see what hate looked like.”
Vince Gill isn’t the only singer to confront Westboro Baptist Church while in town for a concert, according to The Huffington Post .
Members of the Foo Fighters walked outside the Sprint Center in 2011 and serenaded the protesters for a while. One Direction’s Harry Styles also mentioned the group in a tweet after they showed up at the band’s concert at the Sprint Center.
While the WBC often protests concerts, they are more well-known for protesting soldiers’ funerals, praising the Boston Marathon bomber, and threatening to protest Sandy Hook shooting victims’ funerals.
After recovering from their initial shock at seeing him, The Westboro protester asked Vince Gill, “What are you doing with another man’s wife? Don’t you know that divorce plus remarriage equals adultery? Jesus Christ said that.”
But it seemed Vince Gill wasn’t willing to talk with them about his divorce from Sweethearts of the Rodeo’s Janis Oliver in 1998, or his marriage to signer Amy Grant in 2000. Instead, Gill responded with a different question, “Don’t you know that you f*ckers are lucky that you don’t have a sign that says something about my wife?”
If that wasn’t enough, Gill, who apparently has no love lost for the WBC, added, “Are any of you guys Phelpses? Or are you guys, like, the C-Team?” Fred Phelps and his family founded Westboro.
Check out Vince Gill’s confrontation with Westboro Baptist Church below.
[Image via Vince Clements / Shutterstock.com ]