Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider has let rip at fellow rocker Alice Cooper over comments he made about musicians being too engaged in politics.
Snider recently came across the comments which Cooper made in a 2018 interview with The Guardian, where he said he doesn’t like “to mix politics and rock ‘n’ roll.”
Speaking about politically-charged acts like Bono and Sting, Cooper said “musicians are telling people who to vote for, I think that’s an abuse of power. You’re telling your fans not to think for themselves, just to think like you.
“Rock ‘n’ roll is about freedom — and that’s not freedom.”
RATT singer Stephen Pearcy shared the comments in a meme including a picture of Cooper, and wrote: “Well said Coop @alicecooper. Now let’s get back to music. Making people feel good”.
That’s when Dee Snider came across the old quote from Alice Cooper for the first time. “Fair enough, BUT @alicecooper told me he wouldn’t have testified at the senate hearings on censorship either,” Snider wrote in response.
“I did and I got a lot of heat for it at the time. It may not have been the best thing to do for my career… BUT SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO TAKE A STAND!!!”
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He then reposted the image and added some words of his own, saying he was “hugely disappointed” in Cooper.
“Reading this quote from @alicecooper again (assuming it’s accurate) I’m hugely disappointed in his calling musicians speaking out an “abuse of power”. Alice is a friend and a hero to me and I know a lot (too much) about the man…
“…Many of his heroes and inspirations are people who spoke out against political positions and his own legacy challenged us to question the accepted norm. I ask you @alicecooper Is it okay to challenge art but not philosophy? Doesn’t it all come down to questioning beliefs?” he wrote.
Reading this quote from @alicecooper again (assuming it’s accurate) I’m hugely disappointed in his calling musicians speaking out an “abuse of power”. Alice is a friend and a hero to me and I know a lot (too much) about the man… https://t.co/WImxJ2QgJo
— Dee Snider🇺🇸 (@deesnider) September 25, 2020
It’s far from a one-off for Snider to get involved in politics and topical issues.
He has been particularly outspoken during the coronavirus pandemic, and hit out at the use of Twisted Sister’s ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ by anti-maskers.
“No…these selfish assholes do not have my permission or blessing to use my song for their moronic cause. #cuttheshit,” he said after an anti-mask march was soundtracked by the song in Florida recently.
Check out ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ by Dee Snider:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-DhlrMqKNk&ab_channel=LegendsPlayingLeague
