Like any sane person, Corey Taylor isn’t happy about the recent trend in which concertgoers hurl objects at artists while they’re performing. The Slipknot singer didn’t mince words about the rising tally of said incidents in a new interview with Loudwire, arguing that such behavior shows “artists aren’t regarded as people anymore.”
“It’s fucking ridiculous,” Taylor responded when asked about the topic. “This is one of the problems with social media. Now artists aren’t regarded as people anymore. Even if they never were, they were still regarded as something that is flesh and bone. They were something to obsess about, but at least they were a person.”
Taylor continued, “Now, because of the feeling of being even more removed from the human experience, now, you might as well just be a fucking soda machine or a phone booth for fuck sake. You’re an object, and you’re going to be treated as such.”
The artist went on to acknowledge the serious physical threats that throwing objects at artists can pose. “And the fact that people can’t understand how utterly dangerous it is to do shit like that, how utterly rude it is to treat people like that, how utterly incredible it is to think that you are so special that the show is just about you and not about anybody else around you …. the level of entitlement that is being brought out in people is fucking disgusting,” he said.
“Everybody wants to just talk about how wrong it is, but nobody wants to talk about why,” Taylor added. “It’s because nobody’s looking at anyone as a human being anymore. They’re not looking at the artist anymore. They’re not looking at each other anymore like that. And until we bring the human element back into it, there will be no boundaries. That’s what it is. It’s a destruction of boundaries.”
It’s hard to understand how so many people could forget the “keep your hands to yourself” rule that extends into not assaulting those performing for them (or anyone, for that matter), but in Taylor’s mind, these incidents stem from assailants’ simple desire for attention. “Now people see that they can be disregarded and they’re going to get a reaction and they’re going to have something that they can tweet about again, it’s just one giant sucking black hole that looks like a massive asshole just sucking the whole universe into it,” he said. “It’s dumb.” Indeed it is!
To Taylor’s point about attention-seekers endangering artists’ safety, pop star Bebe Rexha needed stitches after she was pelted with a cell phone during a recent concert in New York. Similarly, country singer Kelsea Ballerini was struck in the eye with a bracelet from a fan in Idaho. If the metal singer’s words weren’t enough to display musicians’ anger at the trend, take it from Cardi B, who didn’t hesitate to throw her microphone at a person who tossed a drink at her in Vegas. This is why we can’t have nice things!
Next month, Taylor will unveil his second solo album, CMF2. He also has a run of tour dates kicking off later this month, with tickets available here.
