It seems like it was only yesterday that Chris Cornell and his grunge outfit Soundgarden were fighting back claims of insensitivity after Cornell took to the stage at the Gold Coasts’ Big Day Out and commented that the music coming from Kanye West’s stage sounded like it was being made by “retarded children, retarded as in held back”.
How quickly things change however as lesbian and gay rights advocates across the United States are now praising the Seattle rocker after he reportedly scolded a businessman who used an anti-gay slur during a heated argument in an airport.
According the The New York Post, a witness to the incident claimed “Cornell was spotted breaking up a fight in the Alaska Airlines lounge in the Seattle airport last night.”
“When a guy in a business suit called another man a queer after he overheard him make a pro-Obama statement, Cornell vocally stepped up in the packed lounge and slammed the guy for making anti-gay comments.”
According to witnesses Cornell slammed the suit declaring, “You’re a prick. You deliberately called him a queer to make him feel uncomfortable in front of a lot of people.”
The incident occurred in the airport lounge for Alaska Airlines and security were quickly notified who asked the unnamed businessman to leave. A spokesperson for the airline confirmed the reports and thanked Cornell for his actions.
Funnily enough Cornell was at the airport because he was about the catch a flight to perform at a fundraising function for Barack Obama’s re-election campaign. True story.
Although Soundgarden were just here in Australia for the Big Day Out, Cornell has promised that the band will return with a new album of material sometime later this year. Speaking to Triple M last month Cornell said, “We will come back soon after our album comes out and do a proper headlining tour.
Speaking of the delayed new album which is now expected sometime in the second half of the year; Cornell explained, “It sounds like Soundgarden. But I wouldn’t say it’s similar. I think there are parts of it that are there to remind everybody of us, but we’ve always progressed from album to album.”
So what do we think guys? Does Cornell’s action at Seattle Airport make up for the album he did with Timbaland?
