Korn’s Brian “Head” Welch Defends His Decision to Jam with Mike Huckabee: “I Don’t Follow Politics”
Last week, Korn guitarist Brian “Head” Welch appeared on Mike Huckabee’s television show, and apparently, it somehow did not occur to him that this might piss some fans off. The former Arkansas governor and one-time U.S. presidential candidate holds political beliefs that are deeply discriminatory — he’s anti-choice, against gay marriage and adoption, in favor of the privatization of the prison system, and once advocated for the quarantining of AIDS patients. And to top it all off, his daughter is Minister of Propaganda for the Trump administration. So, yeah. Going on his show was always gonna ruffle some feathers.
But this is all news to Head! In a new social media posting, presumably designed to stem the tide of backlash, the guitarist makes two silly arguments in his own defense:
- I am not a well-informed adult.
- But Mike is such a nice guy!
Here’s Head’s actual statement:
“@govmikehuckabee and I may agree or disagree on certain social issues; I don’t know. I’ve never talked to him about politics, and I don’t follow politics.
“People can say what they want about me jamming with the Gov, but this man has been nothing but humble and extremely kind to me and my daughter. Thank you @govmikehuckabee we had a blast!”
Wow. For just four sentences, there is a lot that’s wrong about this weak-ass defense.
For one thing, it’s unfathomable that Head would know nothing about Huckabee’s politics. As you can probably imagine from the fact that he has a television show named after himself, Huckabee has not exactly been a wallflower. This. Dude. Is. On. Television. ALWAYS. His political leanings are about as much of a secret as the location of the sky.
For another thing, holy shit, “I don’t follow politics” is not something any 48-year-old man should ever say without embarrassment. Head might as well just start wearing a dunce cap in public. I don’t even like his crappy music, and I feel humiliated for him.
Third, “Awful person was nice to me” is always a ridiculous defense strategy. Surely, even Pol Pot and Jeffrey Dahmer were nice to someone during the course of their lives. Like. Who gives a shit. The man has advocated for the suffering of others in the name of his own specious “morality.” Fuck him in the ear. Fuck him in the other ear.
Finally — and most offensively, if you ask me — this entire statement comes off as being painfully insincere. He says he and Huckabee “might” disagree on “certain” issues, but he isn’t sure. In other words, after seeing all this online backlash against appearing with Huckabee, he claims that he still did not do any research into Huckabee’s world views. Which is, again, embarrassing (“I remain willfully ignorant ’til the end!”). But it’s also a statement designed to appease fans who were offended without alienating fans who like Huckabee. He’s trying to have his cake and eat it, too.
Head is a devout Christian, which, like, okay, fine, whatever, that is his choice. But my guess is he knows more about Huckabee’s beliefs than he’s letting on — and the two probably do share a lot of the same values. But Head doesn’t even have the balls to admit that. He would actually rather gloat about being stupid than take a stance. I do not think this is what Jesus would do.
[via The PRP]
