Black Crowes' Chris Robinson Booed After Mocking Crowd's 'USA' Chants
Boos rained down and fans headed to the exits at a recent Black Crowes show after singer Chris Robinson seemingly mocked people in the crowd for chanting, 'U.S.A.' The incident occurred during the band's Southern Hospitality Tour, which is set to touch down in Toronto next month.
According to TMZ, the dust-up started when the group's black crow mascot appeared on a video screen dressed as Uncle Sam, leading to pro-U.S.A. chants at a show in Tampa. Just as the ensemble was about to launch into their 1990 smash 'She Talks to Angels,' screams of 'U.S.A.' started breaking out at the venue.
'Thanks for the geography lesson,' Robinson, 59, said, before adding, 'I don't know what you have to be so proud of right now.' As he was met with jeers from the audience, the Atlanta-born Robinson continued to stoke anger as attendees started heading for the exits. 'For those of you f***ing booing us, some of us are not afraid. And we most assuredly are not f***ing ignorant,' he said.
Video of Robinson's interaction made the rounds online, and reaction to the frontman's rant was harsh. 'U.S. veteran here. Bought tickets for my wife's birthday in Tampa. Chris Robinson mocked the USA chanters … We walked out disappointed. Hoping for a partial refund,' one fan wrote on X.
'Good lord, Chris Robinson handled this in the worst way possible. It's one thing if the fans are combative or disrupting your set, it's another when fans are innocuously chanting USA,' wrote another. 'These musicians need to realize if us everyday common sense people finally wake up and don't attend their concerts or buy their merchandise they would be as broke as most of us are,' a third person seethed.
As the clip racked up more than 500,000 views on X, one observer suggested Robinson should take his millions and 'move to Thailand or the Philippines.' 'If not, enjoy being broke, especially after this stunt. If you planned on booking any arenas in rural America — which is close to 80 to 85% of the U.S. — then you're s*** out of luck! Enjoy poverty and irrelevance!' they said.
'He called us ignorant MF's and stated 'Boo all you want you ignorant MF's … Some of us have class … and we're not afraid,'' one former fan recounted on Facebook. 'I just wanted to hear good music … Anybody want to buy some really cool Black Crowes T Shirts?'
However, some spectators cheered on Robinson for speaking up and said that the quarrel was overblown. 'A lot is an overstatement. I stayed for the whole show and it was still packed getting out of there,' one person wrote on Reddit. 'Some people left after the comments, more left after She Talks to Angels and more left after Remedy. It's a Sunday night, slightly older audience and they have work in the morning.'
Despite the lecture, Robinson said earlier this year that he doesn't view himself as a political person. 'I'm not interested in politics. I'm more interested in poetry and art and people and experience,' he told MOJO. 'I don't tell anyone what to do, because I don't like to be told what to do. But I know right and wrong. The world's teetering on the edge with all this bulls***.'
