Alternative musician Michelle Shocked went on the defensive and claimed her recent anti-gay rant onstage was just an interpretation of "reality."
Shocked made headlines after the bizarre incident, which took place during a show in San Francisco, Calif., on March 17. The tirade included references to preachers getting "held at gunpoint and forced to marry the homosexuals." Shocked even said, "God hates fags." The audience walked out and demanded refunds.
Shocked was scheduled to tour at venues across the West Coast, but many were cancelled following her rant in San Francisco. Most recently, Shocked staged a sit-in in Santa Cruz to protest a cancellation. She wore a ski mask, sunglasses and duct tape across her mouth scrawled with the words "Silenced By Fear."
On Monday, the 51-year-old born-again Christian sat down with Piers Morgan on CNN and defended herself. But even CNN questioned Shocked's lucidity, describing her appearance as "a rambling, and confusing interview, that at times struggled to remain coherent."
"I admit I made a mistake, Piers,” she said. “If I had the chance to do it again, I don't think I would have taken the audience up on their choice. I had presented an entire performance, and I framed it as 'truth,' and then I came out back out for an encore, and they requested 'reality.' And what has consequently taken place ever since then is my manifestation of how little I think of reality."
Although she attempted to delve into her portrayal of that so-called "reality," Morgan wanted to cut to the chase and find out if she considers herself a homophobe or not.
“If you want to keep this simple for the audience, let me just give you a straight no, I’m not homophobic," Shocked insisted. "But I don't think ... the truth I don’t think lies in the simplicity. It’s in the nuance, and that’s been completely lost in this."
For readers and fans alike, Shocked's comments proved, well, shocking.
The Dallas-born singer and songwriter was previously open about her lesbian experiences and even had a strong gay following. In a 1990 interview, Shocked discussed having an intimate relationship with a woman, emphasizing that the only problem someone might have with "coming out of the closet" is identifying oneself.
Shocked's tune on homosexuality has since changed. A foreshadowing of her March rant came in 2011 when she lamented during the Wild Goose Festival about her gay persona.
“Who drafted me as a gay icon? You are looking at the world’s greatest homophobe. Ask God what He thinks,” she said, cutting off her mic and adding, “There is always someone who wants to catch me.”
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