John Mellencamp hits BACK after shock viral video showed him launch expletive-laden tirade at hecklers – before storming off stage: ‘I expect etiquette!’
John Mellencamp has hit back after a viral video showed him leaving the stage after being mobbed by fans mid-performance.
The 72-year-old singer launched an expletive-laden tirade after a concertgoer in Toledo, Ohio shouted “play some music” as Mellencamp tried to tell a story during a concert last month.
Mellencamp responded, “What do you think I did to you?” as fans booed the heckler.
“Here’s the thing, man. You do not know me. You do not know me. Hey Joe, find this guy and let me see him after the show.”
Another fan shouted out a request for Mellencamp to play “Authority Song,” as Mellencamp responded: Guys, I can stop this show right now and just go home.
John Mellencamp has hit back after a viral video showed him storming off stage after being mobbed by fans mid-performance (Photo 2023)
‘Tell you what I’m going to do. Since you’ve been so great, I’m going to cut about ten songs from the show. Here we go.’
The star then launched into his next song Jack & Diane before abruptly saying: ‘You know what? The show is over and he storms off stage.
He would later return and finish the show.
Mellencamp broke his silence on the uproar, saying he expected audience members to have “etiquette” during his show.
He told The Washington Post: ‘I do expect etiquette in the theater, just as you would at a Broadway show.
‘My shows are not actually concerts anymore. They are performances, and there is a difference between a performance and a concert.
‘Look, I’m not for everyone anymore. It’s just not me. And if you want to come and yell and scream and get drunk, don’t come to my show.”
The singer-songwriter started his illustrious career in music in the early 1970s under the stage name Johnny Cougar.
The 72-year-old singer launched an expletive-laden tirade after a fan in Toledo, Ohio shouted “play some music” as Mellencamp tried to tell a story during a concert last month. Mellencamp responded, “What do you think I did to you?” (photo 2023)
He told The Washington Post: “I expect etiquette in the theater, just as you would at a Broadway show.”
He played the name game and went by John Cougar on his self-titled third album.
His big break came with the release of his fifth studio album, American Fool (1982), which included the three hit singles Hurts So Good, Jack & Dianne and Hand to Hold On To.
His seventh album, Uh-Huh (1983), would become an even bigger hit with the support of singles such as Pink Houses, Authority Song and Crumblin’ Down.
In total, Mellencamp has released 25 albums and collected 22 hit songs in the US throughout his career, including Lonely Ol’ Night, I Need A Lover, Small Town, Rain On The Scarecrow, ROCK in the USA, Human Wheels, Paper In Fire. , Cherry Bomb, Jackei Brown and Love And Happiness, among others.
He was eventually inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008, followed by induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018.