Despite commenting on the subject, the singer said that the cases of Bono (U2) and Sting (ex-The Police) are “humanitarian, not political”
The name of Alice Cooper He has always been involved with politics in an unusual way. One of his biggest hits is “Elected” (“elected”), song released on the album Billion Dollar Babies (1973). This is a fun criticism of politicians in general — and both at the time and in future situations, it mobilized false candidacies of Cooper to the presidency of the United States as a form of marketing.
Despite that, Alice He’s the type who doesn’t even want to be involved in politics in a real way. In an interview with Vulture, the 75-year-old artist also offered advice to other rockstars in general: don’t speak publicly about the subject.
“I hate politics. I don’t think that belongs in rock and roll. Rock and roll was supposed to be an escape from politics. Let’s say I have a million fans in America and suddenly I think, ‘well, I’m going to vote for so-and-so, and if you’re my fan, you better vote for him.’ That’s not fair. People like their rockstars more than their politicians. So they will vote for whoever the rock star sends.”
This is not to say that the singer, whose real name is Vincent Furnier, remain completely apart from the public debate. He just doesn’t want to get involved with a specific politician.
“I don’t mind taking on issues and standing up for things, but when it comes to real candidates, why would anyone listen to a rockstar? I mean, that’s the last person I would go to if I wanted any information about politics.”
Defense of Bono and Sting
Despite that, Alice Cooper does not extend his criticism to artists engaged in social issues. The names of Bono (U2) It is Sting (ex-The Police) were cited as positive examples.
“The problem is that people decide that their rock stars are everything just because they created some good songs. Rockstars should worry about the next song, the next album and the next show. But what Bono and Sting do, I don’t see it as something political. I see it as something humanitarian. That’s a totally different thing. I’m all for that.”
Transgender statements
Although he advocates distancing himself from political issues, Alice Cooper recently spoke about something linked to this universe. In regions of the United States, politicians are discussing applying restrictions to trans people in seeking gender-affirming treatments. In Tennessee, they even tried to ban drag queen shows on public properties or any spaces that may have minors — in this case, the court considered the initiative unconstitutional.
When speaking recently with the Stereogum (via Igor Miranda website), Cooper He made statements that were seen as transphobic, to the point that a makeup company broke its contract with him after the repercussions.
“I understand that there are cases of transsexuals, but I fear that it is also a fad, that there are many people claiming to be that way just because they want to be. You have a six-year-old son who has no idea. He just wants to play, and you confuse him by saying: ‘yes, you’re a boy, but you can be a girl if you want to be’. I think this is so confusing for a child. It’s confusing even for a teenager. You’re still trying to find your identity, but here’s this thing happening, saying, ‘yeah, but you can be whatever you want; you can be a cat if you want’. I mean, if you identify as a tree… And I say, ‘Where are we, in a romance novel? Kurt Vonnegut?‘ It’s so absurd that it’s now gotten to the bizarre.”
After resorting to exaggerations that do not apply to real life, Alice He also replicated a common theory among critics of the trans community: the idea that “men can pretend to be women” to “take advantage” of situations. There is no record of any such case, even in regions where transgender people use public bathrooms according to the gender they identify with.
“I can see someone really taking advantage of this. A guy can walk into a woman’s bathroom at any time and just say, ‘Today I feel like a woman’ and have a great time there, and he’s not at all… he’s just taking advantage of this, this situation. Well, it will happen. Someone will get raped and the guy will say, ‘Well, I felt like a girl that day, and then I felt like a guy.’ Where do you draw the line? Something will happen and suddenly people will start saying, ‘Wait a minute, we need to get this under control’. It’s almost like that with artificial intelligence. People would say, ‘well, what about AI?’. And I say: ‘the only person who shouldn’t have AI is Paul McCartney‘. It’s dangerous.”
Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
