Shocked show shut down over gay slur
Leah Garchik
Updated 1:54 pm, Monday, March 18, 2013
At Yoshi's San Francisco on Sunday night, singer Michelle Shocked pretty much shocked her audience by saying, among other things,
"God hates fags and you can tweet that I said so." This came about halfway through the show, in the middle of a rant against gay
marriage, tweeted James Patterson, who was at the show. Something like two-thirds of the crowd walked out.
Even more horrified than the audience were Yoshi's staffers. The manager, assistant club manager, and sound production engineer who
were on duty shut down the show immediately, turning off the lights and cutting off the microphone, said Yoshi's representative Lisa
Bautista. An apology was made and refunds were offered.
Tweeting started immediately. Patterson thought most fans were offended, but some seemed to think her statements were made
ironically, but "If it was intended to be satire or irony, she misread the audience reaction in San Francisco."
On Monday afternoon, Hopmonk Tavern in Novato canceled Shocked's March 29 show because of the singer's comments at Yoshi's, said Dean Birsch. Refunds may be obtained at the place of ticket purchase.
Official statement about last night, and Michelle Shocked: "This was Michelle Shocked's third visit to Yoshi's San Francisco; her first was March 2009. She has never given any indication that she is anti-gay or racist in her previous plays. She obviously has some serious issues and unfortunately chose our venue to vent them." ~Derek Hunter, Artistic Director, Yoshi's San Francisco Posted to Twitter: WE AT YOSHI'S SF DO NOT & WILL NOT EVER TOLERATE THE TYPE OF BIGOTRY & HATRED EXHIBITED LAST NIGHT BY MICHELLE SHOCKED. SHE WILL NEVER BE BACK.