Evanston club cancels Michelle Shocked show after anti-gay rant

Tue. March 19, 2013 8:28 AM by GoPride.com News Staff

Evanston, IL - SPACE, a music venue in Evanston, has canceled folk singer Michelle Shocked's May 5 performance after a San Francisco audience was stunned by her anti-gay rant on March 16.

"Many of you have reached out already following an ugly rant given by Michelle Shocked at her show in San Francisco last night. After speaking with the promoter of that show about the nature of the remarks, it's clear that this is no longer a show we're willing to put our name on. The May 5th performance at SPACE has been cancelled and refunds will be issued at point of purchase," read a statement posted on the Facebook page of SPACE.

The 51-year-old Shocked, a born-again Christian, railed against gay marriage and told an appalled crowd, "You can go on Twitter and say ‘Michelle Shocked says God hates f-gs."

Windy City Times reported that Shocked came out as bisexual more than two decades ago in Outlines newspaper.

"I was with my first woman lover about a year and a half ago," Shocked, who was once considered a lesbian icon during her '90s heyday, told the paper in May 1990. "To be honest, the real fear of coming out of the closet, not fear, but the real pressures of coming out of the closet had been if you had certain problems identifying yourself one way or the other."

Outlines merged with Windy City Times in 2000.

According to a Shocked's website, all shows except two that were scheduled through the month of June are now cancelled.
 

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